Shadow of the Mind's Eye
by Abigail Marie
Summary: Nichole mysteriously gets transported to a world where superheroes exist! When she finds out a bit too much from a mysterious stranger, will the Justice League be able to help her? Or does she have the strength enough to defeat the enemy on her own? R
1. The Journey Begins

This story also has appearances made by the X-men, Spiderman, and a couple other superheroes that may not be DC.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It all started on an ordinary day. She had been shopping at the mall with Grandmother when it happened. As they were walking out of the mall into the parking lot, Nicole froze. Her vision had suddenly blurred and everything was just a swirl of colors. Then, just as suddenly, the world around her began to spin. She tired to call out for help but her voice was frozen, as if in a dream. As the world around spun and the colors blended and changed, she could hear the echoing voice of her Grandmother calling.  
  
"Nichole! Where are you? Nichole!"  
Slowly, her vision cleared and the spinning stopped, but so did Grandma's voice. Nichole looked around. Grandma was nowhere to be found. In fact, the mall had disappeared! Her whole surroundings were different.  
  
She stood on the sidewalk of a dangerous looking part of town. The buildings looked old; some were boarded up. Most of them held the unwelcome 'closed' sign, for it was suddenly much later then it had been. Nichole began to wander the streets, looking for any sign of where she was or of her Grandmother.  
  
After walking for a little while, Nichole noticed a car to the left of her that seemed to be following her. The driver must have become aware that she has noticed, for he spoke.  
  
"You look lost? Need a lift?" Nichole took a quick glance at the stranger. He had a kind face. He didn't look very strong and had a disarming smile. He seemed harmless enough but Nichole was untrusting and scared.  
  
"Leave me alone." Nichole continued to walk. The man continued to follow her.  
  
"Are you sure? The streets aren't exactly safe this time of night, especially for a girl all alone like you."  
  
"Go away."  
  
Just then, Nichole saw a group of big, tough looking men ahead. It appeared to be a gang. Nichole quickly turned around to go the other way, only to find a group of thugs ahead of her. She stood where she was, uncertain of what to do next. The man in the car opened the passenger's door.  
  
"Get in. Unless you want to meet them," He nodded to the gang behind her. "Or them." He motioned to the thugs ahead of her. Nichole stared. She thought quickly, adding up her options, several scenarios running through her mind. Finally, she got in the car. They drove off, away from the gang and thugs.  
  
The stranger held out one hand. "Hi! The name's Carmichael." Nichole shook his hand.  
  
"Nichole." she murmured. "Drop me off at the nearest police station."  
  
"You're lost, aren't you?" Nichole just glared at him. "I mean, what would a girl like you be doing wandering the streets of Gothom?"  
  
Nichole looked at him in shock. Gothom? There was no way this could be.....  
  
"I knew it!" He said with a freaky smile. Nichole looked at him, then up at the sky through the window. First, she saw the bat signal and her eyes widened in disbelief. Then she saw the figure of what appeared to be Superman, flying in the air. This was too much for her all at once; she fainted. The last words she heard were that of the man driving next to her.  
  
"I saw you come in."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Nichole woke up with a moan. What had happened? Her whole body ached. Slowly she opened her eyes. There she saw Carmichael, pacing the alley way, back and forth. He looked over at her.  
  
"Good. Good. You're awake." He mumbled crazily. "You've got to listen to me!" He grabbed her shoulders. She winced in pain.  
  
He began to talk to her, franticly unfolding a story her mind refused to believe. Soon she was thrown back into the backseat car. Carmichael jumped into the driver's seat. "Understand? You've got to stop them! You've got to stop them!" The man pulled out a gun as he began to drive. Nichole whimpered in fear. "You've got to get help...." He stopped the car and kicked the door open. "Get out!" He screamed, struggling with the gun. Nichole quickly got out. The car drove away.  
  
Nichole stood there on the sidewalk, suppressing the urge to burst into tears. She knew she needed help. She walked into the building behind her. It was a hotel. She walked up to the counter.  
  
"May I help you?" All Nichole could do was nod. "Oh, you must be Konya, right?" Once again, Nichole nodded, this time in surprise. "There's a suite ready for you."  
  
Nichole allowed herself to be led to the suite, wondering the whole time how they had got her name and why she had a suite. She entered the suite, tipped the bellman and sat on the bed. Once she had gotten her head together, she decided to call 911. She picked up the phone.  
  
"Put it down." A voice from the corner said. Nichole looked up. In the corner of the room was a dark looking creature. It had the shape of a human, cloaked in dark, with flaming red eyes floating in the dark form. Nichole quickly put the phone down.  
  
"Wh-what do you want?" Nichole managed to stammer out.  
  
"I believe you know what I want." Nichole looked at the thing in horror. What the man said....it couldn't be true....  
  
"Please, don't hurt me."  
  
"I'm afraid that's unavoidable."  
  
Just then, another dark figure crashed in through the window knocking down the creature. They began to fight. The man who crashed through the window picked up the creature and swung him around the room. The creature grabbed the man's hands, which held the creature's leg, and amazingly flipped itself out of his grip. Then the creature grabbed Nichole, who had been in a corner watching the fight in a shocked state. It tried to take her away. The man threw a bat-shaped boomerang at the creature which wrapped a string around its legs; causing it to fall, dropping Nichole, who bumped her head on the night table, knocking her out.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Nichole awoke in a weird looking room. The walls were a metal and the room was small. It had a bed, and table. The door was open but Nichole couldn't tell what was beyond the room. She squinted her eyes to try and see out of the door. She saw a woman walk by, then turn into the room.  
  
"You're awake, little sister."  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
"Justice League Headquarters."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yes. I'm going to get the others. I'm sure they'll want to speak with you."  
  
"Please. Don't leave me alone."  
  
"Ok." Wonder Woman went to the entrance of the room and called the Justice League. "They should be coming, okay?" Nichole nodded.  
  
Soon the rest of the Justice League arrived in the little room.  
  
Superman was the first to speak. "What's your name?" Nichole looked confused. She tried desperately to remember anything. Especially, why she was so scared.  
  
"Nicole. Nicole Konya."  
  
"Where do you live?"  
  
"I, I can't remember. A blue house, in Rhode Island.... Who are you?"  
  
Superman smiled. "I'm Superman. That's Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, J'onn J'onzz, Hawk Girl, Batman and Flash. We're the Justice League."  
  
"The Justice League? Isn't that a cartoon?" The Justice League looked at one another, confused looks on their faces. "Yeah." she said with more confidence. "You're Clark Kent, He's Bruce Wayne, you're Dianna, you're John Stuart, and you're Wally West."  
  
"How did you know that?"  
  
"I used to watch the cartoon all the time." Superman looked at the others, obviously speechless. It was then that he noticed something, Flash was missing. Superman nodded for Batman to take over then stepped out of the room. There he saw Flash sitting on the ground just outside the door, his head in his hands.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I know her." 


	2. Flash's Past

Flash stood up and stared darkly at the ground.  
  
"What? How do you know her?"  
  
"I met her when I was a kid....and now someone hurt her." Flash clenched his fist and started to walk away.  
  
"Look, if you know her, I think she needs someone familiar right now." Flash turned around and looked at Superman.  
  
"She doesn't know me, never really met me."  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"When I was a kid, when I had first discovered my powers... One day I decided to try them out. I was gonna run as fast as I could; you know, to see how fast I could really go. I ran. I must have run a little too fast, I went through to another dimension, I guess. When I stopped, I was in front of a little blue house. I first figured I wasn't on Earth when people couldn't see me. I remember thinking how cool it was. I ran around jumping in front of people; they would bump into me." Flash laughed. "Anyway, I eventually went back to the little blue house. I looked in the bedroom window and saw a girl about my age; she was crying. She looked so lonely. I felt sorry for her. For the next couple of years I went back and forth between her world and my own. I got to know her well."  
  
"Why did you stop?"  
  
"Well, eventually, I fell for her. What was the point of sticking around her when she didn't even know I existed? I had no idea she would be in danger...." Flash, once again, began to walk away.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Superman called after him.  
  
"I'm gonna find him and make him pay."  
  
"How? You don't know how to fly out of here, much less where he is or what he looks like."  
  
"Whatever." Flash walked away.  
  
"Well, that makes things more interesting." Superman looked behind him. It was Batman.  
  
"You heard everything?"  
  
"Enough. Do you think he was telling the truth?"  
  
"I've never seen him like that before. I'm pretty sure he was. Why would he be lying?"  
  
"The only question is, how did she get here?"  
  
Superman nodded. "It seems we have another mystery on our hands. Do you think it's possible? Could this girl be from a different world similar to our own?"  
  
"Yes. What other explanation could there be?"  
  
"I guess we'll find out as we go. Who's talking to the girl now?"  
  
"Wonder Woman. Dianna seems to make the girl feel more comfortable."  
  
Meanwhile, back in the room, after using the lasso of truth on Nichole, it was determined that all the girl had said was true.  
  
"You look tired. Maybe you should get some rest."  
  
"I'm okay. I just woke up." Nichole yawned.  
  
"Get some sleep. You need to recover from your injuries." Nichole looked at herself. She had a cast on her right arm, and her other arm was all bruised up. She was sure her face was all messed up; she could feel the bandages on her forehead and cheek. Her legs felt weak and she wasn't sure if she could walk quite yet. In spite of all this, she smiled.  
  
"Okay. But when I wake up...."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Could you guys sign my cast?" Nichole asked shyly, feeling much younger then her eighteen years.  
  
Wonder Woman smiled. "Of course. Now get some sleep."  
  
Green Lantern, Hawk Girl, and J'onn left but Wonder Woman stayed, respecting Nichole's wish not to leave her alone. Hawk Girl came back with a chair for Wonder Woman to sit on. It didn't take long for Nichole to drift into a somewhat peaceful sleep.  
  
Nichole woke up and looked around. Wonder Woman was still in the chair, reading.  
  
"What time is it?" Nichole murmured. Wonder Woman looked up from her book.  
  
"It's 10 am."  
  
"What time did I fall asleep?"  
  
"About 3 pm yesterday."  
  
Nichole's eyes widened. "I was asleep that long!?" Nichole attempted to get up.  
  
"Stay in bed. Your ankle is sprained." Nichole's stomach growled. "Are you hungry?"  
  
"Yeah, if it isn't too much trouble." Before Wonder Woman could answer, there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Come on in." Wonder Woman opened the door. It was Flash and he had in his hands a tray of food.  
  
"Is our guest hungry?" He asked with a smile.  
  
"Yes." Nichole replied shyly.  
  
"I wasn't sure what you wanted. I hope this is okay." Nichole sat up and Flash put the tray on her lap. It was a breakfast. In the middle of the tray was a plate with chocolate chip waffles, covered sparingly with syrup. Next to the plate was a cup of juice and of course there was a fork and knife.  
  
Nichole looked at him, amazed. "How did you know I liked chocolate chip waffles?"  
  
"Lucky guess, I suppose." Flash said nervously.  
  
"Thank you....Flash."  
  
"Up here you can call me Wally."  
  
"Ok, Wally."  
  
"Um, I've got to be going. I'm sure there's some cat up a tree I need to rescue or something." Nichole laughed as Flash left the room.  
  
The next couple of days, while Nichole was stuck in that room, Wally came to see her at least once every day. Nichole soon took a liking to him. Once Nichole became stronger, she was ready to go around and explore the entire look out.  
  
"Hey Nicky! How are you doing today?" Flash asked one day after entering the room.  
  
"I feel great. In fact, good enough to walk out and explore a bit!"  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Please! I'm sick of this bed; I wanna move my legs again."  
  
"I don't know. Dianna?"  
  
"You can help her walk around a bit."  
  
"Can we go out of this room this time?" Nichole looked hopeful.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Yay!" Wally helped Nichole out of the bed, letting her lean on him as she attempted to walk without using her sprained ankle. They walked out of the room, and stopped.  
  
"Wanna see something really cool?" Wally asked with a smile.  
  
"Sure. What is it?"  
  
"Come on this way and I'll show you." They walked into a small elevator not far in the little hallway. They went up and before the doors opened, Wally covered her eyes.  
  
"Why can't you just tell me what it is?"  
  
"Because, don't you like surprises?" The doors opened and Flash led her into the room the elevator had taken them to. Finally, he opened her eyes. They were at the main control center of the look out. They were surrounded by, what appeared to be but probably wasn't, windows. They looked out into outer space. It was absolutely gorgeous. The earth could be seen from where Nichole was standing. It was breath taking. She had seen pictures before but it hardly did the real thing justice.  
  
"Wow. It's beautiful."  
  
"You like the view?" Wally smiled.  
  
"Like it? I love it! Did you know I've always wanted to go into space, just for the view. I didn't want to be an astronaut or anything like that...."  
  
Wally whispered to himself under his breath so she couldn't hear. "Yes, I know."  
  
The next morning, while Nichole slept in, Wonder Woman had gone down to earth to buy some clothes and other necessities for the young girl. Flash stayed outside the room and making sure he'll be there the moment she wakes up. He was sitting next to the door, nearly asleep, when he heard a cry. It came from the room. He immediately got up and rushed into the room. Nichole was sitting up in bed, crying.  
  
"What's wrong?" He went over to her.  
  
"Please, don't hurt me!" She cried pathetically.  
  
"Shhhh. I'm not gonna hurt you. It's okay. You're safe now, remember?" Nichole looked up and saw it was Flash. She began to cry half relieved. He put his arms around her and held her as she cried. After a couple of minutes, she looked up into his eyes.  
  
"I remembered," she managed to croak out. "I remembered some of what happened."  
  
"You don't have to tell m..." Flash tried to say but she continued on.  
  
"A man, in a car. He was crazy. He told me something...something important. I can't remember. His name was...Carmichael....he...he...hurt me." She cried some more. Flash didn't know what to say. All he could do was whisper words of comfort in her ear. 


	3. First day out of the room

A couple of days later, Wally found himself sitting alone in the control room one night. He was sitting there, thinking of all that had happened since Nichole had come back into his life, how much he had changed.  
  
"I think you should tell her." Flash looked up to see J'onn standing there in front of him.  
  
"Isn't it my own business whether I tell her or not?"  
  
"Yes. And it is my business whether or not to tell her myself." Flash looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"You wouldn't."  
  
Yes, I would." J'onn looked sympathetically at his friend. "Now, tell me, why won't you tell her?"  
  
"I have my reasons."  
  
"Tell me."  
  
Wally was silent for a moment. He looked down at the metal floor as he worked his jaw. "I don't think she'd be able to handle it right now."  
  
"Come on. Surely you can think of something better then that." Flash continued to stare at the floor. "You can help her."  
  
"How would telling her be helping her at all?"  
  
"Can't you see? She can barely remember her own name or where she lives."  
  
"She remembers some things."  
  
"Yes, but only bits and pieces. You can help her remember her past, her family. Who knows? It might help solve the mystery. But even if it doesn't, don't you want to help heal her broken heart?" J'onn put his hand on Flash's shoulder. "Help her put the bits and pieces together."  
  
"How do you know they're worth putting together?"  
  
"Would you have left her if you didn't know she was safe? If you didn't know she had loving family and friends for her to lean on?"  
  
"No." Wally mumbled as he turned his head away.  
  
"Dianna says Nichole's ankle should be better tomorrow. She'll be able to walk around on her own."  
  
"I'll tell her soon.... She deserves to know."  
  
Sure enough, the next day Nichole was up and walking.  
  
"You guys have a kitchen up here?" Nichole was amazed.  
  
"Yep. You wanna eat breakfast in there?"  
  
"Sure. The less I see of this room, the better."  
  
Dianna showed Nichole the way to the kitchen. It wasn't much to look at but Nichole immediately liked it. On the right side of the room were a small refrigerator, sink, and a dishwasher. The left side of the room held the stove, microwave, and cabinets. In the middle of the room, was an odd shaped table where Green Lantern sat, absorbed in his newspaper.  
  
"Hey John." Dianna said as she casually walked over to the fridge and opened it.  
  
"Hey." He mumbled back.  
  
Wonder Woman looked over at Nichole, who was still standing at the entrance of the room. "Come in, take a seat." Dianna motioned to one of the stools at the table. "I'm sure we can find you something to eat here." Nichole took a seat on one of the many stools. "Hey John, you want anything while I'm in here?" Green Lantern looked up from his article.  
  
"Could you take out the milk? I'm gonna have a bowl of cereal. Dianna took the milk out and put it on the table. "What would you like?" Dianna looked at Nichole.  
  
"Do you have any onion bagels?"  
  
"We sure do." Wonder Woman took out the bagels and placed them next to the milk. "The toasters over there." She pointed to a spot on the counter, underneath the cabinets. "You know how to work it, right?"  
  
"Yeah." Nichole went over and put her bagel in the toaster. Green Lantern then put down his newspaper and went over to the cabinets and took out a bowl. Nichole snickered as he took out the cereal. The box, that had once been yellow, was completely wrapped in masking tape. You could only see the name of the cereal, which was in red, Golden O's. Green Lantern glared at her.  
  
"It's only certain shades of yellow, okay?"  
  
Nichole suppressed a giggle. "Okay." John poured the cereal into his bowl. As the name implies, it was yellow O shaped cereal. Nichole tried to hide another giggle.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it." Green Lantern put his bowl of cereal at the end of the table and poured some milk in. He hid his smile well until he turned his back and put the milk away.  
  
Wonder Woman, who was now standing next to Nichole, leaned over next to her. "He's kinda sensitive about his yellow weakness." Dianna whispered.  
  
"Understandably so." Nichole whispered back.  
  
"When you're done eating, would you like me to show you around the lookout?" Dianna asked Nichole.  
  
"Sure, that'd be great!" Nichole finished her bagel and Dianna led her around the lookout, telling her little tid-bits as they went. The last room they went to was what the Justice League liked to call, 'The Hang-out room.' It was the second biggest room in the entire look out. The room was stuffed with furniture. It had a big TV, which rested in a big TV cabinet. Next to this was another cabinet, a little smaller then the other one. There was a couch across from the TV and two comfy looking chairs next to it. Towards the back of the room were a stereo and another cabinet next to it. Wally was there, sitting on the couch, eating a bag of chips and watching a movie. He looked up when they entered the room.  
  
"Hello, ladies." He looked at Dianna. "Giving her the grand tour?" Dianna nodded. He then turned to Nichole. "Enjoying it?" Nichole smiled.  
  
"Yeah. This is our last stop."  
  
"Really? This movie is almost over.... Why don't you join me and we can play a few video games?" Nichole's eyes brightened up.  
  
"You have video games?"  
  
"You better believe it!" Flash got up and opened the one of the drawers of the TV cabinet. Inside there were at least 5 different types of systems. Flash opened the cabinet's left drawer. It was full of games from one system. "The rest of the drawers have more games." Wally commented.  
  
"Wow. I've never seen so many video games in my whole life..."  
  
"Wanna play?"  
  
"Sure." Nichole turned to Dianna. "You wanna play?"  
  
"No. I should be going. I have a few things on earth to take care of."  
  
"Okay, I'll see you later, right?"  
  
"I'll be back tomorrow."  
  
"See you then."  
  
"Bye." Both Wally and Nichole said together as Wonder Woman left the room. Flash turned to Nichole. "What game do you want to play?"  
  
After deciding on a system and game, they both sat down on the couch and played the game, both of them extremely enjoying themselves. Once Nichole had beat Wally for the third time, Wally sat back and laughed.  
  
"Ha. Beat you again!" Nichole smiled at him.  
  
"That's only because I let you."  
  
"You wish." Nichole laughed.  
  
Wally looked at her. She was so pretty. Her gorgeous black hair was cut up to her shoulders, but it curled making it look shorter. She had hazel like eyes, which now shone with joy. She looked so happy... Would telling her he knew of her past help, or hurt her? What if she asked why he wasn't there to protect her that day? What could he tell her? What if she hated him?  
  
"Wally? Are you okay?"  
  
"Hmmm?" Wally came out of his gaze. "Nichole, we need to talk." He took the remote and turned off the television.  
  
"Talk?" Nichole looked confused. "What about?"  
  
Wally took a deep breath. He looked up at the ceiling, searching for the easiest way to tell her. "What would you say if I told you I've met you before you came here?"  
  
"I guess I'd ask how."  
  
"Look, I can't think of any easy way to put this, but you deserve to know."  
  
"Know what?"  
  
"I've been to your world before."  
  
"What?"  
  
"When I was younger... I visited your world. Well, actually, more like lived in. I stayed for a while. I even saw you."  
  
"You were in my world... How could this be?"  
  
"You were wrong, Nichole. There are superheroes in your world. It's just, no one can see them. They're all invisible. The moment I stepped into your world, I turned invisible." Nichole was speechless. Wally continued. "I watched you...and your family. They sorta became like a family to me too..."  
  
"You remember my family?" Nichole's eyes filled with tears, but she quickly wiped them away.  
  
"Yes, I thought I could help you piece your memories together. You know, whenever you feel like talking about them... You don't hate me, do you?"  
  
"Why would I hate you?"  
  
Wally blushed. "Well, I didn't tell you before and... I wasn't exactly there...that day..." He looked at the floor, waiting for her to tell him how much she hated him.  
  
"Oh." Nichole cupped her hand under Wally's chin, lifting his face up to look at her. "It's not your fault." She said softly. "You were there for me when I needed you. How could I hate you after that?" She gave him a much needed hug. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	4. A new job for a guest

Weeks passed. Each day Nichole would remember more and more of her past and Flash would help her, however, none of it was helpful to solving the mystery. Soon it had been a whole month since Nichole had arrived at Justice League Headquarters. It began to seem like she had blocked what the man had said from her memory forever. Superman had called a JL meeting to see if there were any ideas as to what they should do.  
  
Nichole hadn't been told of the meeting. She had been sitting in her room contently sitting in her room, the just-in-case room she had found herself in when she first arrived, reading the latest book Dianna had picked up for her. Suddenly, deciding she needed a snack, Nichole got up and went to the kitchen. She looked in the fridge for her candy bar she had been eating yesterday. She couldn't find it.  
  
"Wally must have finished it." Nichole mumbled to herself. Just then, she heard raised voices. They were coming from the meeting room. "A meeting?" Nichole said to herself. "You think they'd tell me when a meeting's going on..." Nichole muttered to herself as she took a banana off of the top of the fridge. The raised voices became louder. She couldn't contain herself; she had to find out what the meeting was about.  
  
Nichole knew her way around the look out very well by now so it didn't take her very long to make to the doorway. It was, of course, closed. When she leaned her ear to the door she could hear the voices perfectly clear and could even tell whom they belonged to.  
  
"What are we going to do, send her back down to earth?" She could hear Flash yell, obviously angry.  
  
"What else can we do? She's never going to remember!" This came from a somewhat annoyed Green Lantern.  
  
"No." Batman's voice clearly stated.  
  
"No? What do you mean, 'no.'"  
  
"No. Earth is too dangerous right now. You know that."  
  
"Kinda funny, isn't it?" Wonder Woman commented.  
  
"What do you mean?" Superman asked.  
  
"Well, ever since Batman's brought Nichole up to Headquarters, crime has increased drastically. Do you think there's a connection?"  
  
Batman responded. "It's very possible. If only we knew what that man told her."  
  
"Which brings us back to our subject, what do we do if she doesn't remember? She can't stay here forever." Superman stated in his leader- like way.  
  
"She'll remember." Flash insisted. Batman looked at him, a smile hiding in his eyes.  
  
"What makes you so sure?"  
  
"I know her better then anyone else here. I just know she will."  
  
"Ok. Say she does remember. How long is it going to take? I don't think any of us can handle the crime this high for too long."  
  
"Yes, and it seems that it only gets higher by the moment." J'onn commented.  
  
"Maybe I could help." They all turned to see Nichole enter the room. Hawk Girl was the first to respond.  
  
"Help? What do you mean?"  
  
"I could help you guys, you know, fight crime."  
  
"No! No way. You'd be creamed out there; it's way too dangerous." Superman immediately said.  
  
"Maybe she could help in another way?" J'onn suggested.  
  
"Yeah. There isn't much I can do. But I can cook, and I can clean, and I can learn. Maybe I could help J'onn in the main control room? That is, if he's willing to help me learn."  
  
"I'd be glad to."  
  
"Well, I guess this the end of the meeting." Superman turned to Nichole. "Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to, you know."  
  
"It's my pleasure." Nichole smiled.  
  
So, it was settled. Nichole would help out in the control room and maybe even bake up snacks for the Justice League. Later that day, Nichole was in the store room, right next to the kitchen, looking through the food supplies. She wanted to bake some of her favorite cookies to snack on.  
  
"You didn't have to do that, you know." Nichole didn't even have to turn around.  
  
"Yes, Wally, I did."  
  
"I was handling it."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Yeah. You're a guest here. You shouldn't have to work."  
  
"What makes you think I just wanna sit around all day and do nothing?"  
  
"Well, I..."  
  
"Wally, I'm sick of doing nothing. I wanna do something that requires thinking."  
  
"Play Zelda then."  
  
"Very funny. I want to do something that helps people." Nichole sighed. "The way I figure it, the more normal I make my life now, like get into a regular routine, the higher the chances are that I'll remember. I need to remember....before it's too late."  
  
"Too late? What do you mean?"  
  
"I don't know... I've just got this feeling...that if I don't remember soon, something will happen. Something bad." Wally put his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry about it. You'll remember." Nichole smiled at him.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"So, what are you going to make?"  
  
"I'm gonna make my mom's infamous rice crispy cookies. I'm sure you'll like them."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Those are good."  
  
Nichole raised her eyebrow. "You've tried them?"  
  
"Yeah. I used to take food from your fridge."  
  
"A superhero, stealing?" Nichole was quite amused.  
  
"Well, a boy had to live, right?" Wally smiled guiltily. Nichole crossed her arms and smiled.  
  
"What else have you stolen?"  
  
"A chip here, a cookie there... I wasn't the only one stealing, you know."  
  
"Oh, really?"  
  
"You stole my heart." He looked down into her eyes. She gazed back, letting the look in his eyes make her stomach flip.  
  
"Ahem." The noise broke their trance. The both looked over to see Batman standing in the doorway of the room.  
  
"I'm gonna go make the cookies now." Nichole mumbled as she gathered the supplies needed together and brushed past Batman.  
  
"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Batman asked once he was sure Nichole was out of hearing range.  
  
"I was just talking to Nichole." Flash responded nervously. Batman took one step closer and looked Flash straight in the eyes.  
  
"Do you love her?"  
  
"Well, I, I don't know." Flash said, the question obviously flustering him.  
  
"Then lay off. She needs a committed friend right now, not a short romance. She has enough on her mind right now, don't you think?"  
  
"Well, it wasn't my intention to..."  
  
"I'll be watching you." Flash turned his head for a second, and then turned back and Batman was gone.  
  
"Man, I hate when he does that." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey John, have you seen Batman?" Nichole asked later the evening.  
  
"Yeah. He was getting ready to leave. If you hurry you might catch him." Green Lantern responded.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Nichole hurried to the kitchen. She wanted to give some of the cookies she had baked to him before he left. She wasn't sure if Batman would eat them, but she was sure Robin would enjoy them. That is, if he was the like the Robin she had saw on TV. Since she had been here she had noticed something. The characters weren't exactly like they were on the show. Nichole hadn't really thought about it before, but now the characters seemed to be more human. Sure, they had some traits from the show but she thought it was interesting that they weren't exactly like she would have expected them to be.  
  
Nichole entered the kitchen and found Batman there. The cookies she had laid out earlier were on the table.  
  
"Hi Batman." Nichole said timidly as she took the paper bag of cookies off the table. He turned and looked at her but remained quiet. "I thought maybe you and Robin would like some snacks for tonight. Wally's constantly telling me how fighting crime builds up an appetite." Batman smiled.  
  
"He would." Batman sat down on one of the stools. Nichole sat down as well. She handed him the bag. He took the bag and before putting down on the table took a little peak inside. "Robin'll enjoy these."  
  
"I was wondering..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Well, why'd you bring me here, to the lookout? I've had some time to think about it and it doesn't make sense. Why didn't you take me to a hospital or even to the Bat cave?" Batman got up and took the cookies.  
  
"I have to go now. If you really want to know, ask Superman. He should be stopping by tonight." And with that, Batman was gone.  
  
Nichole stayed up later then usual that night. She was dying to find out why. Maybe the story would help her remember something. She was in the control room talking with J'onn when Superman finally showed up.  
  
"Hey Superman! Can we talk?" Nichole asked as soon as Superman entered the room.  
  
"Yeah, I'm doing fine and you?"  
  
"Very funny. Can we please talk?"  
  
"Sure." Superman said with a smile. "Why don't we talk in the kitchen?"  
  
"Okay. I made some cookies."  
  
"Mmmm. What kind?" Superman asked as they made their way to the kitchen.  
  
"Rice Crispy."  
  
"Rice Crispy? I'll have to try them." Superman said as he let Nichole into the room before him. Superman sat down and Nichole went to the fridge to take out what was left of the cookies. She set them on the table before sitting down. "So, what is it do you want to ask me that's so important?"  
  
"Well, I first asked Batman but he told me he didn't have time and that you would be able to answer me."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"How did I end up here? I mean, why didn't Batman take me to a hospital or even to the Bat cave? And...why can't I go down to earth?" Superman stared at the floor and sighed.  
  
"You really want to know?" Nichole nodded. "The first part of the story I can only tell you second hand...hopefully that'll be enough."  
  
"I'm sure it will be, Superman."  
  
"You've been here long enough to call me Clark."  
  
"Ok, Clark."  
  
"Where to start..." Superman murmured, taking a cookie from the table.  
  
"How about the part after I got knocked out?" He smiled.  
  
"Yes. I guess that would be the best place." Superman finished his cookie. "Mmmm. Good cookie." He paused before beginning his story.  
  
"Right after that thing, whatever it was, dropped you, it retreated. Batman took you and put you in the Bat car with Robin. He said he didn't take you to a hospital because he thought you were connected to some weird things that were happening in Gothom, which he still hasn't clarified, and you were obviously in some sort of danger that normal police wouldn't be able to handle. He took you to the Bat cave. You were there for barely a day when they were attacked. It was that creature again except there were more of them and they were bigger and stronger. They were too much for Batman and Robin to handle by themselves, so I was called in along with Wonder Woman. I wasn't of much use. Once we arrived all my power left me. Wonder Woman shoved me off in a corner during the beginning of the fight so I got a good look at them. They were like a dark vapor; their eyes were an evil red. They didn't speak much, but when they did, their voices were smooth and creepy. Mainly they said they wanted to take you away but they didn't say where or for what reason. When they stepped into the light, they were like a shadow on a hot summer's day. The only part that still stood out was their eyes. They looked so evil... Eventually, we did beat them, well, actually, they retreated again. The four of us decided it wasn't safe for you on earth. Those things want you badly and it seems they'd be willing to search the world just to find you. The look out seemed to be the safest place for you."  
  
"Do you have any idea what they would want with me?"  
  
"Well, they didn't want to invite you to a tea party, that's for sure."  
  
"Do you think they're still searching? Do you think they'll think to search up here?"  
  
Superman took a deep breath before answering her question. "I don't know." 


	5. Hezekiah's Blood

Disclaimer: I'm new here so, I didn't put this at the beginning. I DO NOT own Justice League or any other famous things mentioned in this story. (Like Zelda, types of name brand food, and other superheroes originally from Marvel or DC comics) I do, however, own Nichole! :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
More weeks passed. Soon, she had been there for almost two whole months, even though it felt like longer. She was still in basic training with J'onn and barely knew anything about the controls. Mainly she would stay up with J'onn and they would talk. Nichole soon became very fond of J'onn and thought of him as a should-be-my-brother friend.  
  
Nichole woke up later then usual one day. She found J'onn in the control room, after she had grabbed a bite to eat in the kitchen.  
  
"Good morning, Nichole." J'onn greeted her as she entered the room. "Or should I say, 'Good afternoon.'"  
  
Nichole smiled. "Good afternoon. Where is everybody?" She usually passed at least one person on her way to the kitchen, or at least in the kitchen, but today there had been no one.  
  
"Green Lantern's in the training room. The rest are out fighting crime."  
  
"Really? It's that bad?"  
  
"I'm afraid so."  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by a beeping noise coming from one of the controls. J'onn went over and pressed a flashing, green button. Wonder woman's face appeared on the small screen above the button.  
  
"Hey J'onn. Can you contact Batman for me? The communications between the bat cave and the Javelin-7 are acting up again."  
  
"Sure, no problem. I'll do it immediately." J'onn then pressed the green button again and the screen turned blank. J'onn was just about to press another button when Nichole stopped him.  
  
"Please, let me do it." She pleaded.  
  
"I'm not sure..."  
  
"Oh, come on, J'onn. It's not like it's anything life-threatening! How am I gonna learn the controls if you never let me try? Besides, communications are just the basics, right?"  
  
"Fine. Just don't bother Batman with any questions."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
J'onn shrugged his shoulders. "Batman likes his secrecy. We'll find out what it is soon enough."  
  
"Yeah. The Justice League will find out, but will I?"  
  
"How does the saying go? Ah, yes. Curiosity killed the cat."  
  
Nichole rolled her eyes at him. "I won't bother Batman if you tell me when you find out."  
  
"I make no promises."  
  
Nichole crossed her arms in mock annoyance. "Superman's trained you too well."  
  
"He's just trying to prevent you from getting into more trouble then you're already in."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but he's coming off as an overprotective older brother."  
  
J'onn laughed. "You should call Batman now."  
  
"Right. What do I press?"  
  
J'onn showed her the series of buttons to press in order to reach the bat cave. It wasn't long until they saw Robin's face grace the screen.  
  
"Robin here. Who's this?"  
  
"Nichole. Is Batma..."  
  
"Really? Nichole?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Thanks for those cookies. They were delicious. Although, I only got a few; Batman ate most of them before I could get close."  
  
"You're welcome." Nichole said with a smile. "If you want, I could send you a whole batch. I'm sure Batman couldn't ear a whole batch before you can get near them."  
  
"That sounds great."  
  
"Anyway, is Batman there?"  
  
"Nope, he's out being Bruce Wayne."  
  
"Oh. Well, Wonder woman's on her way over with the blood sample he asked for."  
  
"Blood sample?"  
  
"Yeah. Don't ask me. I don't have a clue."  
  
"Ok. I've got to go open the ceiling door for her. I'll be looking forward to those cookies."  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Bye." The screen went blank after Robin reached down and pressed the button to end the call. He then hurried to open the ceiling. It wouldn't be good if Wonder woman came and had no where to land.  
  
He opened it up just in time as Wonder woman lowered the Javelin-7 into the newest part of the bat cave.  
  
"Hey Wonder woman." Robin said as she stepped out of the aircraft.  
  
"Hello Robin. Batman should be expecting me."  
  
"Well, he's not here right now, but he should be soon."  
  
"I'll wait then." She walked deeper into the bat cave then stopped and turned to Robin. "Where do you think he would want this?" Wonder woman held up a little test tube in her hand. It was half-full with red liquid, obviously blood.  
  
"Put it on the table over there." Both Wonder woman and Robin looked up only to see Batman standing in the corner, in full costume. Wonder woman walked over to the table and set the test tube down.  
  
"So, what's this for?" She finally asked after Robin had left the room.  
  
"A little experiment." Batman went over to the table and set out another test tube next to Wonder woman's. In his vile was a light blue liquid. He looked up at Dianna. "Are you sure you got Hezekiah James' blood?"  
  
"Yes. I'm positive. Who's Hezekiah James?"  
  
"No one in particular. Just another criminal caught holding a home hostage."  
  
Wonder woman's eyes softened. "How'd it turn out?"  
  
Batman looked down at the floor. "Not good. It was a family of four. I was only able to save the mother and daughter." Dianna put her hand on his shoulder. They stood there for a moment like this. The both knew how hard it was to be in a situation where innocent lives were lost. Innocent lives they could have saved.  
  
"What's in that vile?" Wonder woman finally broke the silence.  
  
"This," he held up the blue liquid, "is Hezekiah's blood...now."  
  
"What? How is that possible?"  
  
"You were right; the rise in crime is connected with Nichole."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
He looked up at Dianna. "Those.... creatures. They're still looking for her." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	6. A breath of fresh air

Flash landed in the bat cave with a thud.  
  
Wow. That was easy. Flash thought. He climbed down off the Javelin- 7 and then looked up at the ceiling door he had fallen through.  
  
"Robin must have left the door open again." Flash muttered to himself. At least I've found what I'm looking for. He thought as he put his hand on the side of the ship.  
  
"Flash? What are you doing here?" He turned around to see Robin standing in the doorway of the room.  
  
"Oh, uh, I was just looking for Wonder woman."  
  
"She's in the other room with Batman." Robin nodded to the closed door behind him. "They're doing some sort of experiment."  
  
"Do you think she would mind if...." Flash paused mid-sentence. "How long do you think they'll be in there?"  
  
"Have it back by four-thirty and you should be fine."  
  
Flash smiled. "Thanks, Robin! Oh, by the way, remember to close the ceiling door after I leave."  
  
"Oh, thanks, Flash. I'd be in trouble if Batman found out I left it open again."  
  
Flash entered the Javelin-7 and flew off to the Watchtower. He glanced at his watch. It was one o'clock now.  
  
Once Flash arrived at the Lookout, he immediately made his way to the kitchen; the somewhat heavenly aroma of chocolate chip cookies telling him he would find Nichole there.  
  
"Hey Wally." Nichole said as she took the cookies out the oven.  
  
"How'd you know it was me?"  
  
She turned around and put the tray of cookies on a pot holder, which was on the table. She then looked up at Flash.  
  
"No matter what time it is or where I think you are; you're always right behind me whenever I take cookies out of the oven."  
  
Wally laughed. "Well, actually, today it wasn't planned." Nichole looked unconvinced. "Honest. I came here to ask you something."  
  
"Oh." She sat down and motioned for him to do the same. "Go ahead."  
  
"Remember when we talked about what you'd want to do if you could go down to earth for a day?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Flash pulled out of his pocket two tickets and placed them on the table. Nichole picked them up; her eyes widened. They were tickets to an amusement park in Ohio.  
  
"How did you...?"  
  
Wally smiled. "I've got connections. So, you wanna go?"  
  
"When?"  
  
"Now."  
  
"Now?! You know I'd go with you after all this is over but..."  
  
"Why can't we go now?"  
  
"Well, first of all, those creatures could still be looking for me and I don't want to find out what'll happen if they do find me. Not to mention all the yelling that will happen if we got caught."  
  
"For your first point, no problem. I'm a superhero; I'll protect you."  
  
"What if you aren't enough? After all, last time it took Batman, Wonder woman, and Robin to defeat those things but they didn't even do that."  
  
"Do you honestly think those creatures are still after you?"  
  
"It's a very strong possibility. I would just like to stay away from the danger of being killed."  
  
"The only danger you'd be in is if the rest of the Justice League found out."  
  
"How do you figure?"  
  
"Well, that night, you said the man in the car told you something important, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then you were taken to some hotel where the first creature showed up."  
  
"Your point is?"  
  
"That man told you something about those creatures, something you weren't supposed to know; maybe even he wasn't supposed to know. It might have been something like what they are or why they're here. He told you for one reason or another and dropped you off at the hotel. Those things found out and went after you; to make sure you wouldn't leak any information. It's been two months. Don't you think they would have given up by now? Don't you think they would have thought you'd already given the info away?"  
  
"Wow. That seems to fit nicely...but why don't you just tell that to the rest of the Justice League? Then we could go another day, when we'd have more time. Heck, why don't I just move down there till the rest of my memory returns?"  
  
"You believe me, don't you?"  
  
"Well, it fits better then any of my ideas..."  
  
"Then it doesn't matter what they would think. Besides, if you even have a feeling that danger's near, we'll be out of there in a second."  
  
"Oh, I don't know..."  
  
"Oh, come on. You know you want to see the earth again. Wouldn't it be nice to feel the warmth of the sun again and the wind on your face? Don't you wanna see the deep blue sky and..."  
  
"Ok! I'll go."  
  
"Great! I've got everything ready."  
  
"Oh, wait."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We've got a problem."  
  
"No, I already told you. I know how to fly the Javelin-7. Wonder woman's been teaching me for the past month, remember?"  
  
"No, different problem." Nichole pointed behind Wally. Flash turned around to see J'onn in the doorway of the kitchen.  
  
"How long were you standing there?" Flash asked.  
  
"Sorry, Nichole but I can't let you go. It's much too dangerous."  
  
"Oh, please! You've got to let me go." Nichole was about to beg when she noticed something. "Where's Wally?"  
  
Flash popped up behind her. "Right here." He walked over to J'onn and put his arm over J'onn's shoulder. "J'onn, buddy."  
  
"No."  
  
"You wouldn't want me to show this to everybody?" Flash took his other arm from behind his back. In his hand he held a cassette tape. J'onn became alarmed.  
  
"What's on that tape?"  
  
Flash leaned over and whispered in the Martian's ear. J'onn's eyes widened.  
  
"Fine. I'll let you go. Just give me that tape!"  
  
"I'll give it when we come back." Flash quickly held the tape out of J'onn's reach.  
  
"Thank you, J'onn. Oh, and if it makes you feel better, you don't have to cover for us." Nichole said sympathetically.  
  
"Thank you." J'onn glared at Flash. "But I think I'll pass. You two go and have a good time. Keep her away from danger."  
  
After getting some stuff together, they were off. Flash sat at the controls and Nichole at the seat next to him.  
  
"So, you're going to the park in that?" Flash looked down at his regular superhero attire.  
  
"No. After we land I'll change." Wally caught her dirty glare. "Don't worry. The ship has a separator. You can stay here and I'll change in the back."  
  
"Oh. Sounds good to me. By the way, what was on that tape anyway?"  
  
"For the sake of my friend's reputation and honor, I can not answer that question."  
  
"That's ok. I'm sure I don't want to know anyway."  
  
A few minutes later Flash landed the ship in the middle of a forest.  
  
"Why are we landing here?" Nichole asked.  
  
"Well, we can't land the ship in the parking lot. My car is parked not to far from here. We can walk over to it. Now, if you'll excuse me." Flash pressed the button to put up the separator and quickly ran to the other end of the ship before it closed.  
  
After Wally changed out of his Flash costume they made their way out into the forest to find Wally's car.  
  
"How far did you park your car again?" They had stopped in a clearing in the woods; Wally was staring at the woods, a confused look on his face.  
  
"I'm sure I parked it right over there."  
  
"Well, it couldn't have just driven away and I'm sure no one would..." Nichole stopped, put her hand to her head and sat down with her back against a tree.  
  
"Nicky! Are you alright?"  
  
"We've got to get out of here." she said through clenched teeth.  
  
"What's wrong?" Wally helped her up slowly.  
  
She looked up at him, her eyes full of fear. "They're here."  
  
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wisp of black swept down, grabbing Nichole. It landed, with Nichole in its grasp, a few feet in front of Flash.  
  
"Give her back!" He screamed, making a mad dash towards the creature.  
  
The monster, anticipating his move, leaped up onto the lowest branch on the tree behind it.  
  
"Come down here and face me like a man!" Wally screamed up at it.  
  
The creature just stared at him with fiery red eyes. It made a high, screeching noise before it leapt out of the tree. It turned to leave. Out of nowhere, a mace came flying through the air, hitting the creature unaware. It fell over, dropping Nichole. Flash ran over and caught Nichole before she fell.  
  
"Are you ok?" Flash looked desperately into the girl's blank eyes as he held her limp body. "Are you ok?" he repeated franticly. He shook her hard, breaking her from her trance. She looked at him, her eyes seemingly adjusting to the world around her. Once again, Wally repeated his desperate question.  
  
"I...I'm fine. You have bigger problems right now."  
  
It was then that Wally glanced around, only to see himself surrounded by dark, evil-looking creatures but also, by friends. Batman, Wonder woman, Hawk Girl and, Robin were fighting off the evil before them.  
  
Hawk Girl, who had recovered her mace, fought her way over to where Flash was standing.  
  
"Take Nichole to the ship and come back. Superman's waiting for her there." She screamed above the noise.  
  
Flash nodded in response. "Come on, Nicky." he whispered. "We've got to get you to safety."  
  
He ran all the way to the ship in a matter of seconds. There, he dropped off Nichole into the arms of Superman, and ran off to rejoin the battle.  
  
"How'd you guys get here so fast?" Flash asked as he dodged the powerful blow of the monster in front of him.  
  
"Now's not exactly a good time." Wonder woman yelled back at him.  
  
The battle continued on, each of them fighting to their full potential. It wasn't long into the battle when one of the creatures stood in the middle of the clearing and screamed in an unintelligible language. Just as suddenly as they came, they all seemed to disappear into the trees.  
  
The group looked around. Robin was the first to ask the question on everyone's minds. "Where did they go?"  
  
"They ran away.....again." Wonder woman murmured as she gazed at where she had last seen the creatures.  
  
"We'd better head back to the Javelin-7." Hawk Girl finally said. She turned to Flash. "I'm sure Superman will want a word with you."  
  
When they arrived at the Javelin-7 they found Nichole sitting quietly in the ship, while Superman paced outside. Upon seeing his friends, Superman's expression changed from worry to relief.  
  
"Did you get them?" Superman asked to the group in general.  
  
"No." Hawk Girl answered. "They ran away again."  
  
Superman pounded his fist into a nearby tree, using it as an outlet for his frustration.  
  
"We'd better get out of here before they decided to come back with more of their friends." Wonder woman said.  
  
The ride back was quiet; dangerously quiet. Wally knew he was in trouble. This was probably going to be the biggest lecture of his life. He looked over at Nichole. Ever since he had come back, she hadn't said more then one word at a time. She just stared blankly at the floor. Any attempts to talk to her had failed; he was beginning to become concerned. Maybe he could get it out of her......but that would have to wait. They were about to land and the lecture wasn't very far away.  
  
Sure enough, once they had landed, Flash and Nichole were led to the meeting room, where they both took a seat at the long table. Superman stood across from them, while Batman lurked in the corner.  
  
"Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourselves in today?" Superman began, his temper rising with each word.  
  
"Superman." Nichole whispered under her breath.  
  
"How irresponsible can two people be?"  
  
"Superman." Nichole whispered, a little louder this time.  
  
"You both could have been killed!"  
  
"Clark!" Her voice rose.  
  
"Didn't you stop to think of the consequences? What would have happened if you were caught by them?"  
  
Nichole stood up, her emotions overwhelming her. "Clark Kent, will you listen to me!?" She screamed in his face.  
  
He froze. The three superheroes stared at Nichole, neither one of them had seen her like this before.  
  
She sunk back down into her chair. "I've remembered." she cried. "I've remembered what he told me." 


	7. Secrets Revealed?

Nichole gazed across the room at the people around her. She sat at the head of the table in the meeting room, which was usually Superman's chair. All of the Justice League had been gathered into the room while Flash and Superman tried to calm her down. She took a deep breath and tried to fight the tears that once again threatened. She looked down. Wally had slipped her hand into his and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Nichole smiled at him, and then looked up at the rest of the Justice League. She was ready. With one look at Superman, the murmured conversations were hushed.  
  
"Where should I begin?" She quietly asked, half to herself.  
  
Each hero in the room longed to shout, 'Tell us what he told you!' however, they also knew the situation was delicate. Nichole had to tell at her own pace.  
  
It was Batman who responded to her question. "Maybe you should start at the part right before the creature came."  
  
The young girl looked over at him and nodded slightly. "Right."  
  
She began to tell her tale.  
  
"Flash and I were walking in the woods, looking for where he had parked his car, when my head suddenly began to pound. It wasn't anything like a headache. It was overwhelming; like something inside of me was calling out, warning me. 'They're coming,' it pounded in my mind. 'Run. RUN!'  
  
"Before I could get away, as you all know, I was grabbed." She paused here, her eyes filled with wonder at the memory. "It was the strangest thing. The instant that creature picked me up, it was as if I had been sent back in time. Back to the night of my arrival."  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
When I opened my eyes I saw him there, Carmichael. He was pacing the alleyway, talking to himself in a panicky voice.  
  
"Maybe I should try to wake her again..." He mumbled to himself; then stuck his head out of the alleyway, looking back and forth in a nervous manner. "There isn't much time."  
  
He then turned his attention to me.  
  
"Good, good. You're awake!"  
  
He grabbed my shoulders, practically forcing me to look into his eyes. They were a deep, sky-blue; filled with panic, fear, and pain. But also, they were the freakiest thing I've ever seen. Right down the middle of his eyes was a swirl of red; a deep, evil red.  
  
"You've got to listen to me!" His voice became more panicky as he went on. "There isn't much time. You've got to stop them!"  
  
"S-stop who?" I replied in a quiet, frightened voice.  
  
"The aliens! They've already come...."  
  
At this, his eyes widened; the red in his eyes seemed to become an even deeper red, if that was possible. He clutched his head, violently shaking it back and forth.  
  
"No!" He screamed. "I've......got......to... tell her." He turned back to me; pain shone in his eyes. "You've....got to help....stop them. They've come....to take the world. The people....they need the people to...survive." Just then, his eyes clouded over, and his face took on the look of a mad man. "It is too late." He laughed crazily. "They are coming soon... All hope is gone!" He laughed again, as if it was some big prank that had worked out exactly as he had planned.  
  
At this, he fell, right in front of me. I gathered up my courage and tried to make a run for it but he quickly reached up with his right hand and grabbed my arm. I cried out in pain as I fell onto the cement. I used the little strength I had left to crawl my way back into the corner I had found myself in when I had woken up. He got up and began to pace back and forth restlessly. He stopped and looked at me.  
  
His face took a kinder look when he saw the fear in my eyes. "I would explain everything to you but there's no time. The aliens are going to attack when their power reaches its fullest. That should be about three months from now. They'll only have one weakness. Half of it is located in their ship. Where the ship is, I don't know exactly. However, I do know it's in space. The other half is extremely important......"  
  
He once again began to clutch his head and shake it violently. He forced himself to look over at me, pain etched deep into his face. Carmichael began to scream. "The weakness is.....the weakness is..."  
  
*END OF FLASHBACK*  
  
"That's when I woke up and found myself in Wally's arms." Nichole looked up at the Justice League, to see their reactions.  
  
They all seemed to be taking everything in, taking in all the information.  
  
"We've only got one month left." Flash said quietly, breaking the eerie silence. The others just stood in silence. Wally dared to say what was on each person's mind. "What can we do in a month? With just the little information we know."  
  
"I don't know." Superman finally replied. "But I do know one thing.....we're gonna need help with this one."  
  
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Nichole sat in the kitchen and stabbed her piece of chocolate cake angrily. If only I could remember just a little more... she thought as another tear fell from her cheek.  
  
"If only..." she whispered to herself.  
  
"You shouldn't let the questions haunt you."  
  
Nichole turned around to see Batman standing in the entrance of the kitchen. She groaned inwardly. Flash had stopped her on her way from the meeting room to the kitchen. He had warned her about Batman's mood. It seemed that Batman was still mad about the whole sneaking down to earth thing.  
  
"It's ok. I'm fine." Nichole gave him a half-hearted smile to try and prove her point.  
  
Batman nodded in response. "We need to talk. Follow me."  
  
"Okay." Nichole got up and followed Batman. Something was bothering him, she could feel it, and it wasn't just about sneaking down to earth.  
  
Batman led her to the Hangout room. He let her in before him and made sure the door was closed.  
  
"What's wrong?" Nichole asked when she saw the look on his face. It was a look of secrecy, unlike the one he usually held.  
  
Batman didn't respond. He just made his way over to the corner of the room and looked intently at the wall. Silence hung in the air for a few moments, and then Batman stood next to the broken lamp on the side table, which was on the right side of the corner, opposite the stereo. He gently took off the lamp's cover and unscrewed the light bulb. He put the light bulb on the table and reached into the lamp where the bulb had once been. Suddenly, a small part of the wall in the corner flipped. Nichole couldn't see what it was from where she was standing, so she went over to stand behind Batman. It almost looked like a home security number pad except it was a bit more complex. Not only did it have the number buttons on it but also two other buttons on its right side. At least, from what Nichole could see.  
  
Batman pushed a series of number buttons then pressed one of the buttons on the right side. "Harkonnen." He said in a clear voice. He then pressed the second button on the right side of it. Nichole jumped in surprise as a part of the corner automatically slid to the side, becoming part of the wall beside it. Now, where the wall had once been, was a big metal door. Batman took a step closer and the door opened, like an automatic door you would find at a grocery store. He turned to see Nichole behind him. "Come on." Rather reluctantly, Nichole entered the darkness that was beyond the door. Batman went in after her, and closed the door. He reached for the wall and flipped a switch. The hall was filled with light.  
  
Nichole looked over at him. "What is this place?"  
  
Still, Batman didn't answer her. He walked quickly past her. Nichole followed him before he became out of view. She turned a corner and nearly ran into Batman. He was opening yet another door.  
  
"Come on. This is the last door."  
  
Nichole entered the room before Batman. It was dark at first but only until he had closed the door and turned on the light.  
  
The room before her was almost like a mini version of the hangout room; with the exception of the big computer which covered most of the left wall. Nichole also noticed a little stove in the corner, along with piles of boxes.  
  
"What is this place?" She finally asked, taking another step into the room.  
  
"This, is the hidden room I had put in here when the Watchtower was made. This room was made especially for cases like yours." Batman responded, taking a seat on the comfy-looking couch. It looked like he was getting ready for a long, serious talk.  
  
Somewhat nervously, Nichole sat down on the easy chair next to the couch. "Cases like mine? What do you mean?"  
  
"You should know very well by now. That is, unless your time alone in the kitchen was just a pity party."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"You put yourself in a lot of danger today."  
  
She sighed. "I know and I'm really sorry. It'll never happen again."  
  
"You know?" Batman's voice quickly took on an angrier tone. "I don't think you realize how much danger you put yourself in today."  
  
"I know I could have been kidnapped or killed."  
  
"I'm afraid that's just the beginning."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"When they realized you had left, they ran. It's very possible that they found our ship and followed us here."  
  
Nichole's eyes widened. "You're saying they could be near here; watching me? Sitting around waiting for the opportunity to.....attack?"  
  
"Exactly. That's why you're left with two choices." 


	8. The Two Choices

"What are my choices?" Nichole finally asked after waiting for him to continue. Batman stood up and faced her directly.  
  
"You can either stay here until we leave to fight them or," Batman paused. "You could wander the galaxy with the superheroes of my council's choice until all this is over."  
  
At first, Nichole just sat there; her mind slowly taking in the results of her day's actions. Getting out of her seat, she boldly faced Batman. Defiance shone in her eyes. "You can't do this to me!"  
  
Batman glared back at her just as defiantly. "You did this to yourself."  
  
"But-but there's gotta be another way. I can still be of help to you guys."  
  
"If you want to stay so bad, then you can."  
  
"But I can't stay trapped in this room for a month! Even if someone could come here with me, seeing the same walls for a month would drive me insane."  
  
"The only people who know of this room are you and me."  
  
Nichole looked at him in shock. "You mean the only face I'd see for a month would be.....yours?"  
  
"If you decide to stay here, then yes."  
  
"Don't you have to have the rest of the group's approval? Don't they have a say too?"  
  
"I found you and brought you to the place that I had built. You are my responsibility, not theirs."  
  
"So that means you can do whatever you want with me?" Nichole glared at him, her voice on the verge of yelling.  
  
"No. That means I can do whatever I think will keep you safe." Batman replied. He was getting tired of arguing with this child. "Now sit down!" Nichole plopped back down on her chair. She had run out of arguments anyway. "I'll give you a day to decide."  
  
"I don't need a day."  
  
"Then you've decided?"  
  
"No." Nichole mumbled, crossing her arms. Batman let out a soft sigh.  
"Look, I don't care if you sit around feeling sorry for yourself all day but you will have a decision when I get back."  
  
Nichole looked up at him. "You mean I have to stay here?"  
  
"Yes. You can sit and think with no disturbances, and you'll be safe." Batman turned toward the door. "I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow." Before Nichole could protest, Batman had already opened the door and left.  
  
She rushed over to the door; pounding on it with all her strength. "Batman, come on! Let me out!" It was no use. "Must be sound proofed" she mumbled.  
  
Nichole wandered back over to the couch and plopped down. There was no sense in trying to get out. She would just have to wait until Batman came back tomorrow. If only she knew even a little bit about computers, just enough to reprogram it to her own password and voice. It seemed like she would have to choose like Batman said.  
  
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Superman slowly landed the Javelin-7 in the large school yard. He turned to look behind him as he unfastened his safety belt. "Please, Flash, this time let Wonder woman and I handle it." he pleaded. "You were almost clobbered when you told the Thing he could do his part in saving the world from suffering by wearing the rest of his outfit."  
  
"Well, you can't say you don't agree with me." He flashed a smile. "Besides, with this speed," he whizzed from the back of the ship to the front in one quick motion. "He wouldn't be able to catch me, much less clobber me."  
  
"But we need him on our side, fighting against these aliens not against us." Wonder woman added. "Now come on. A crowd is gathering."  
  
The three superheroes stepped out of the plane into the crowd of kids. A tall one with short, brown hair and dark shades approached them. "Superman, Wonder woman, Flash. Long time no see." He offered out his hand.  
  
"Cyclops. It has been a while." He took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake. "We're here to see Professor X. There are some very important matters we'd like to discuss with him."  
  
Cyclops nodded his head. "We've been expecting you." Catching the weird looks exchanged between the three visitors Cyclops quickly added. "You know the Professor and his power. He's been sensing something was wrong for some time now, although he hasn't told us what it is." He gave them an expectant look, as if he had hoped that they might leak a little information. After receiving no form of an answer, he continued. "Well, come on. I show you to his room."  
  
"What about our ship?" Wonder woman asked. "Can we just leave it here?"  
  
"Oh. If you don't mind I'll just give the keys to Beast here and he'll put it with our own ships." All eyes went of to the big, blue creature who had inconceivably gone unnoticed before. "He's quite capable of flying it."  
  
Superman handed the keys over to Beast, although quite reluctantly. "Just be careful," he said quietly to Beast. "If there's even one scratch Batman'll kill us."  
  
Beast grinned. "Don't worry, Superman. I will give it the utmost care and attention."  
  
As Beast made his way to the ship, the three members of the Justice League followed Cyclops into the Mansion. The crowd of teenage mutants followed close behind. With Cyclops at the front, the parade of super humans made their way through the hall toward the Professor's room. Upon arriving Cyclops opened the door, letting Superman, Wonder woman, Flash, and himself in.  
  
In the room, which was richly furnished, sat a bald man in a wheel chair. He rolled over to them.  
  
"Professor, Superman, Wonder woman and Flash are here to see you." Cyclops said.  
  
The old man smiled. "I can see that Scott. You may leave now."  
  
Reluctantly, Scott exited the room, sure to be bombarded with questions once out of hearing range.  
  
"Why don't you take a seat?" He motioned to the three chairs in front of his desk. Not wanting to be rude, they each took a seat. "Would you like anything to drink?"  
  
"Oh, no thank you." Wonder woman responded. "We really don't have the time. We've come here on matters that are very urgent."  
  
"Oh, yes, of course. Please, tell me what I could help you with."  
  
"Well, first of all, Cyclops implied that you already know a little of our plight." Superman began.  
  
The Professor nodded. "Yes. I've been sensing the world is in great danger. A powerful creature is growing....and spreading."  
  
"More likely creatures. We need your help. If the X-men would come up to the Watchtower all will be explained there." Superman replied.  
  
The Professor looked at each of them for a long moment. Then, with a resolved yet somewhat amused look in his eyes, he nodded. "Alright. We'll come and yes, we can provide our own transportation."  
  
The superheroes got up, each shaking Xavier's hand for a goodbye. "Thank you so much, Professor." Wonder woman thanked him.  
  
"This is what superheroes must do from time to time." Xavier smiled. The three heroes went over to the door. "Oh, and Flash, I wasn't bald my whole life."  
  
Superman whacked Flash as hard as he could with out knocking him out. "I told you not to say anything." Superman said through his teeth.  
  
Flash, not expecting the blow, rubbed his sore head. "Yeesh. I didn't say anything." He said as they left the room.  
  
Once they were back on their ship, which had been properly handled by Beast, they made their way to find another league of superheroes. So far, so good. This superhero meeting was going to be a grand one. 


	9. The Justice League's Council

A/N: I'm finally back!! Sorry it took so long to update. Bad combination of writer's block, my own "lack of information" and my mom saying I should be concentrating on my school work rather then "some story." I've been checking out other fics and I've seen other authors doing shout outs. It looked like fun so I thought I might try it out. ^_^  
  
Drunk on Tang: ^_^ fun fun silly willy isn't it?  
  
Siora: Thanks for appreciating my humor!! It makes me very happy!  
  
Desert-Rose6: calm down, calm down..... It's uncanny. although I don't know as much about X-men as I'd like so I'm probably gonna screw everyone's personalities up so, if I do, forgive me?  
  
Zeheria: I'm glad you like it. And if you continue to read this chapter you will find out Flash's reaction. :-)  
  
Holly: I'm glad you like it so much!!! Thank you for reading!! And I'm glad you liked my joke so much!! (I didn't think anyone would appreciate it, much less laugh at it.)  
  
Disclaimer: If you see something familiar in this fic....I probably don't own it.  
  
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Nichole slumped back onto the couch. It had only been a few hours, five tops, and she was already bored. There had to be more things to do here. She had blasted all the cds even though she had never heard of any of the groups. She had found one Nintendo system but couldn't find the games. Who put together the furnishing in this room anyway? There had to be some secret compartments or something. Either that or she just wasn't looking hard enough.  
  
Nichole sighed softly. She knew that there was still the decision to be made but she wasn't quite ready to confront the unavoidable change in her future. Her gaze wandered over to the computer on the side of the wall. If only she had paid attention in computer class at school or even when J'onn had tried to teach her about the main computer in the Watchtower.  
  
She got up and sat down on the chair in front of the computer. Maybe if she fooled with it a little she could figure something out. She looked over the various buttons, key boards, and screens. "Well, at least I know how to turn the thing on." Nichole said to herself as she pressed a big, rather important-looking button. The computer turned on in a brilliant array of flashing lights and beeping sounds.  
  
"Cool." Nichole uttered, followed by a somewhat nervous glance at the door. If Batman were to walk into that door.....but she didn't have time to think about that right now. "Let's see if I can figure out how this baby works." She said to herself, closing her eyes tightly while hitting a few random, unimportant-looking buttons.  
  
Immediately, the screens, which had been blank, turned on. In each a section of the Watchtower could be seen. Nichole looked at the screens in wonder. "Batman desperately needs to get a hobby." The entire watchtower was bugged. Cameras were everywhere; Nichole could see into each room. In fact, it seemed that a small group was gathering in the meeting room right now. Must be the council Batman had spoken of.  
  
Nichole had never been much of a superhero fan so she didn't recognize the four distinct figures of Professor Xavier, Dr. Strange, Mr. Fantastic and Iron Man sitting in the room with the Justice League members. Being the nosy girl that she was, she sat back and listened in to the conversation.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for coming on such short notice and with such little information." Superman addressed the four gentlemen. "But before we give what information we have, I would like Professor Xavier to tell what he has learned."  
  
"I would be glad to." Xavier complied. "As of about a month ago, the X-men have been noticing some, how would say, irregular behavior in some humans. They would be normal human beings one day, but then...they would change somehow. Grow psychotic almost. We were afraid this condition might spread to mutants. I was just about to send the X-men to investigate more when the Justice League came."  
  
"But Cyclops said we were expected." Wonder woman said.  
  
"You were. It's not every day that you hear the Justice League has taken in a human girl. And only a month later weird things start happening. I figured you would be paying a visit to us eventually." Charles looked over at Superman. "This does have to do with the girl, correct?"  
  
Superman nodded. "You're right Professor; this situation has everything to do with the girl that we've taken in.  
  
"It has come to our attention that, once again, the earth is in grave danger. Unusually strong aliens plan on attacking earth by the end of this month. We must stop them before they attack, if possible. Their ship is located somewhere near earth, we assume. If we can reach their ship before time runs out perhaps we can find their weakness and destroy them." Superman began.  
  
"You received this information from the girl?" Reed Richards asked.  
  
"Yes." Wonder woman replied first.  
  
"How did she know this?"  
  
"It was told to her by a man known as Carmichael." Wonder woman answered.  
  
"How do you know he is trustworthy?" Reed Richards inquired. "Perhaps he could have been lying in order to set us into a trap?"  
  
"What about this girl?" Iron man asked. "Is she trustworthy?"  
  
"What exactly are you suggesting, Iron Man?" Flash glared at him.  
  
Ignoring Flash's tone, Iron Man responded. "It could be possible that she was either making this up or she could be in on it with them."  
  
Flash immediately jumped to Nichole's defense. "There is no way she's in on it with them!" He rose from his seat, fire burning in his eyes. "Don't you ever say anything like that again!"  
  
"Flash, settle down; they don't know." Wonder woman stared Flash back down into his seat. "He grew up with her." Wonder woman explained. "Nichole is from a dimension similar to ours, with the exception of its lack of superheroes."  
  
"No," Flash corrected quietly. "There are superheroes in her world; you just can't see them. For some weird reason, whenever you enter that world, if you've got superhuman powers, you turn invisible."  
  
"How did she get here?" Dr. Strange asked Flash.  
  
"I don't know....she can't remember either."  
  
"Well, now that we have assurance that she is trustworthy, what about this Carmichael?" Reed Richards asked again.  
  
"I believe he was telling the truth; at least, as much as he could understand of it." Batman said.  
  
"Why do you think this?" Xavier asked him.  
  
"Because I've met him."  
  
The whole room looked at Batman in shock.  
  
"You-you met him?" Flash looked at Batman as if he had said that he was an alien. "When?"  
  
"The night I saved Nichole, although I'm pretty sure I had met him beforehand." Batman said "He's the one who told me where Nichole was, and that she was in grave danger. He said I needed to save her for his own sake. I saw the desperation in his eyes; he wasn't lying.  
  
"It was then that I was able to retrieve a sample of his blood." Batman said, with a glance at Wonder Woman. "I've been doing experiments for some time now. It seems that he somehow acquired a lethal substance that turned his blood to a dark bluish color. However, this substance.....it's almost as if it's a completely different person or creature most likely."  
  
"You think these creatures have something to do with that substance?" Xavier said.  
"It is possible."  
  
"If I may add something?" Dr. Strange spoke up.  
  
"Go ahead." Xavier nodded.  
  
"If I were to assume, I would say there is a very high chance that they could be the Esothen. I don't know very much about them, but from what I've heard here today, well, it matches quite well with some of the rumors I have heard."  
  
"The Esothen? I have never heard of them before." Iron Man responded.  
  
"I have heard a little. Most of it was from Silver Surfer but I have picked up several bits of information although they are probably nothing more then rumors." Reed Richards added.  
  
"Could you please enlighten the rest of us?" Green Lantern asked.  
  
"From what I've heard from rumors, these creatures are extremely powerful. That's what all the rumors agree on. What there powers are exactly, well, that's where the rumors begin to differ." Reed Richards said.  
  
"There is one that I know of, that sounds like it would fit with what Batman was saying. It says that they have the ability to insert a deadly liquid into being; controlling their mind and eventually killing them." Dr. Strange added.  
  
"That would explain why Carmichael looked like he was fighting for control while he was talking to me. Although it doesn't explain how he knew what he knew." Batman said.  
  
"He could have stumbled upon the information just like your girl did." J'onn analyzed.  
  
"What does it matter if we trust Carmichael or not? These creatures are obviously hostile and they are going to attack. We should attack them before they attack earth!" Hawk girl finally burst out.  
  
"Hawk girl may have a point. No matter what the specific details; these creatures are a threat to earth. It is our duty to stop them." Iron man pointed out.  
  
"The only question left is, how?" Wonder woman asked.  
  
"I would very much like to meet the girl. Perhaps Professor Xavier would be able to find out more of what she knows." Dr. Strange said. "Where is she?"  
  
"She's somewhere around here." Flash responded eagerly. "I'll go get her."  
  
"She's not here." Batman quickly stated.  
  
"WHAT?!" Flash rushed over to where Batman was calmly sitting. "What do you mean she's not here?? What did you do to her?"  
  
Glaring at an enraged/confused Flash, Batman responded. "I put her somewhere where she will be safe."  
  
"And it's not safe here?"  
  
"Them following us here is a possibility, thanks to you. I had to put her somewhere where she would be safe."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"If I told you it would no longer be safe."  
  
Before the real fight could begin, Superman rushed between them. "Flash, calm down! If Batman says she's safe then she's safe. I don't think it was right of him to take her away without notifying anyone but he did what he thought he had to do."  
  
Rather reluctantly, Flash went back to his seat.  
  
"But did he have to do it?" Mr. Fantastic asked. "I mean, if we're going to attack as soon as possible, then wouldn't it be good if we had the girl near us? That way, if they have followed you, then it would be some kind of distraction for them. That is, if we pull it off right."  
  
"I don't think we should just rush in there and start attacking." Wonder woman said. "It seems that they only get stronger every time we fight them. We need some form of strategy."  
  
"I agree with Wonder woman. We should not just rush in there if we don't have to. Time is running out and it seems that our lack of knowledge of our enemy is our weakness." Professor Xavier concluded. "I also agree with Mr. Richards. We should bring the girl back here and watch over her. I might be able to go into her subconscious and find some information."  
  
"And what if you can't find any information?" Flash asked.  
  
"Then I think we should find the ship and attack. We have no time for information seeking. And we shouldn't go down without a fight."  
  
"We'll separate into groups. Some will go to fight, some will stay here to protect Nichole, and the rest will stay to protect the earth. Since all of you are leaders of your groups respectively; I leave it up to you to decide who is to do what." Superman stated.  
  
The group nodded solemnly. The decisions had been made and agreed upon.  
  
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Nichole stared at the screen, her head spinning. Esothen; the word felt so familiar. As if she not only knew of the word but had at one time used it often. But it didn't matter. Carmichael had probably mentioned the Esothen somewhere when he was talking to her. That was why it felt so distant, so fuzzy.  
  
Nichole continued to stare at the screens, watching the four guests return to their transportations, soon to return with back up. "Well," Nichole said to herself. "At least I'm getting out of here soon."  
  
She turned off the computer. It wouldn't be pleasant if Batman came and saw she had been messing with his computer. Nicole returned to her seat on the couch. All she had to do was wait.  
  
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Well, that's all I've got for now.......and if you want more, then please review!!! If you don't want more.......please review anyway!!! I'll try hard to get chap. 10 up quicker. Really, I will.... 


	10. Truth Seekers

Drunk on Tang: Thanks for believing in me...oh wait...isn't that something I'm supposed to say at the end of a story?..oh well...thanks anyway. ^_^ And here's chapter 10!  
  
MatureImmaturity: I'm glad you find it interesting. I'm even happier you'll be following the story. Hope you enjoy.  
  
AntimatterManticore: Thanks! And I did email you, but, to say it again, I don't see a problem with it. I mean, as long as you don't copy my story line. And you know, not have her come in the same way unless you have a reason for it. (mine has a reason that will eventually be explained)  
  
Disclaimer: Now, onto the story that contains things that I do not own. Try picking them out.  
  
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She ran through the halls as fast as she could. Faster, she had to run faster. A quick glance behind her confirmed its quiet presence. She had to run faster.  
  
Reaching her bedroom, she rushed in and slammed the door shut. Backing away from the door, she could still see the shadows creeping in underneath it. There was no escape now.  
  
"AMBROSE!!"  
  
No sooner had the scream escaped her lips then the darkness flooded the room.  
  
It swallowed her. It engulfed her. It tore her apart and yet, it completed her. The darkness was suddenly blown away by a bright, red light. She was standing in a space ship, looking out at the huge explosion. A single tear rolled down her cheek.  
  
Soft steps came up from behind her. She could feel his arms wrap around her, protecting her. Looking up she could see his solemn face. Letting the tears come, she buried her face in his chest.  
  
"Oh, Ambrose, what have we done?"  
  
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Nichole woke up drenched in sweat. The dream had come back. The dream had always been there, for as long as she could remember. Even as a little child, the same dream had haunted her at night. It had scared her more as a child, so much that not even her mother could comfort her when the dream came. She thought it had gone away. She hadn't had it for at least a year. Why had it come back?  
  
Before she could contemplate the dream's return any longer, the doors whooshed open and Batman walked in.  
  
"Get up. You're getting out of here."  
  
Nichole quickly sat up. "What do you mean? I thought it was dangerous out there. Wait, you're not making me leave the Watch tower completely are you?"  
  
A little smirk slowly appeared on Batman's face. "I'm not stupid you know."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You didn't honestly think that you could gain access to all the cameras in the Watchtower without me knowing?"  
  
"Well, I was hoping." Nichole looked up at him and smiled slightly. "You wouldn't believe how boring it is here all by yourself."  
  
Batman just met her comments with his impenetrable glare.  
  
"Okay, then." She said, crossing her legs up on the couch. "I guess we should talk about the meeting." He was still glaring. "Maybe?"  
  
"What do you want to know?" He finally asked.  
  
"If I ask, will you tell me the correct answer?"  
  
"Depends on what you ask."  
  
"Okay. First question. Who is Carmichael?" She looked up at him like a knowledge hungry student ready to learn all that is possible from her teacher.  
  
At first Batman just stared at the ground, as if hesitant to reveal any information to the girl. But deciding that she deserved that much, he spoke. "Carmichael's real name is Hezekiah James. He used to work at an office building as a janitor somewhere in Metropolis. That was before I met him."  
  
"How many times did you meet him? I mean, didn't you say it was more then once?"  
  
"I've met him twice. Once on the night you came and.....another time. When he was arrested."  
  
"Why was he arrested?"  
  
"He was holding a family hostage."  
  
"Then why do you feel you can trust him? I mean, maybe he was just some crazy guy....maybe it was just a coincidence that aliens were actually coming."  
  
"No. He saw something. That was what drove him crazy. He was trying to stop them but didn't know where to go."  
  
"But holding a family hostage?"  
  
"He was looking for someone....someone special." Batman said, with a weird glance at Nichole.  
  
Nichole looked back at him, puzzled. "What? Do you think it was me?"  
  
"No," Batman shook his head. "I think he thought it was you. Unless there's something about yourself you're not telling me."  
  
"No. Nothing."  
  
Batman nodded. He turned around and opened the door. "You should go now. You're going to be held under a temporary 24/7 watch so once you go out the back way find someone and stay with them."  
  
"Wait. There's a back way?"  
  
"Just follow the halls. You should either end up in the landing area or your bedroom. Go out in the landing area and make sure no one sees you."  
  
"Alright." Nichole got up and went through the door. A second later she poked her head back out. "You can get to my bedroom from here?"  
  
"Just go." He responded moodily.  
  
Batman didn't have to say it again. Nichole quickly rushed out the door on her way to her 'freedom.'  
  
"This just isn't making any sense." Batman said to himself. The information just wasn't fitting together. There had to be a piece missing. He had to find more information on Hezekiah. It was the only key he had.  
  
With those thoughts in mind, Batman left his secret room, in search of the deeper truth.  
  
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"Flash, could I talk to you for a second?"  
  
Wally West turned around to see Dr. Strange standing in the kitchen doorway. "Uh, sure, but I thought you left with the others?"  
  
"I am not the leader of any particular group. I had no reason to go."  
  
"Oh, okay. Why don't we talk in the kitchen here?"  
  
Flash and Dr. Strange both went into the kitchen and sat down at the odd-looking table. "What did you want to talk to me about?"  
  
"I'd like to know more about the invisible superheroes from the girl's world."  
  
"The girl? Oh, right. You mean Nichole. What would you like to know about them?"  
  
Dr. Strange paused for a moment as if trying to control his emotions. "When was the last time you saw them?"  
  
"It's been a while. There's a time difference between our two worlds so I'm not sure how long it would be their time."  
  
"Did they tell you how they got there? Were they happy there?"  
  
"Well, to answer your first question, I visited with them for years but that seemed to be a sensitive subject. I never really asked. But they did seem happy there, for the most part anyway. They were constantly defending people who didn't even know they existed. It's sad really. Some people called them angels."  
  
"How many of them were there?"  
  
"Um....let's see." Flash mumbled to himself various names while counting on his fingers. "Seven that I met anyway. I'm sure there are more of them on that planet."  
  
"Seven? But that doesn't make any sense....I only sent five..." Dr. Strange muttered to himself.  
  
"What do you mean? Are you saying you're the one who sent them there?"  
  
Dr. Strange glanced behind Flash at the doorway. "Come in."  
  
Wally turned around to see Nichole standing there. "Nicky!" He rushed over and swept her up in his arms. "I was so worried about you. Batman said he had put you somewhere."  
  
Nichole laughed. "I'm fine. Please, put me down." Flash promptly put her down in front of him. "And before you ask, no, I can't tell you where I was."  
  
Dr. Strange cleared his throat. "Oh, right. Nichole, this is Dr. Strange. Dr. Strange this is Nichole, the girl that held a good part of our meeting's conversation." Flash said rather awkwardly.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nichole." Dr. Strange shook her hand. "I've heard so much about you."  
  
"It's nice to meet you too, Dr. Strange. I assume you're a part of the backup that was called for."  
  
"That I am."  
  
There was a short awkward silence. "Um, I'm sorry for interrupting." Nichole stammered, looking from Dr. Strange to Flash. "You were talking, right?"  
  
"Yes and it was just starting to get interesting. Dr. Strange, you don't mind if Nichole joins us do you?" Flash asked.  
  
"Actually, I'm feeling rather worn-out at the moment. Perhaps another time. If you ever go back there again, Flash, tell them I said thank you."  
  
Flash nodded. "Sure thing. If you want to rest the hang out room is right down the hall. Ask J'onn if you can't find it."  
  
"Thank you." Dr. Strange said as he exited the room.  
  
"Well, that was weird." Wally said, rubbing his head.  
  
"Yeah. He knew the invisible people you met in my world?"  
  
"You were spying?"  
  
Nichole blushed. "Only a little. Batman told me to go find someone to watch me so I came here. I didn't want to interrupt such a good conversation."  
  
"You never do." Wally smiled. "So, you're sure you can't tell me where you've been?"  
  
"Sorry, but Batman would kill me. And before you say anything, yes, he would find out. He has ways of finding out. Trust me."  
  
"Learned a little more about ol' Batty, have we?"  
  
"You could say that." Nichole smiled slightly, almost secretively. She sucked at keeping secrets but this one she had to. Who knew if Batman was listening in on their conversation?  
  
She let out a yawn. "You look tired. Why don't I find Wonder woman and she can watch you while you sleep?"  
  
"Just like the good old days?"  
  
"That was only a couple of months ago, but I guess I know what you mean. It does feel like longer. Things have gotten more complicated since then."  
  
"Or fuzzier." Nichole whispered under her breath.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Oh, um, I think that'd be great. I am a little tired." She needed a moment to think. And even if sleep did come, maybe it would come with answers. She had to remember soon. The world depended upon it.  
  
"Alright then," Flash responded. "I think she's in the main control room with J'onn."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Soon Nichole found herself in the old bedroom, wrapped underneath the old covers. It was nice to be back even if she had only been gone for a short while. She closed her eyes, pretending she was asleep. Inside, she was thinking....and wondering. There was so much to wonder about.  
  
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Wonder woman got up to answer it. "They're here." The voice beyond the door said. It sounded like Green Lantern.  
  
"So soon?" Wonder woman responded.  
  
Nichole suddenly felt so very sleepy. She tried to fight the sleep that suddenly overwhelmed her. Thinking obviously had been hard work, although she hadn't gotten much out of it. Nichole quickly drifted to sleep.  
  
"Professor Xavier wants to see the girl. Is she asleep?" Green Lantern asked.  
  
Wonder woman looked behind her. "Yes."  
  
"Good. He says it would be better for him to enter her mind while she's asleep. It's easier to access her subconscious that way."  
  
"Alright," Wonder woman opened the door wider. "Let him in."  
  
Professor Xavier rolled in quietly up to the bed.  
  
"Should I go?" Wonder woman asked.  
  
"Oh, no, of course not, as long as there's quiet so I can concentrate." Professor X placed himself next to the bed and closed his eyes. "Now, let's see if we can find out the truth."  
  
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That's it for now. Once again, I'm sorry it took so long... I've got a feeling that the next chapter will come sooner. I can't wait to get started at it. It's gonna be...interesting.  
  
Anyways, as you all know, reviews are extremely appreciated. Not to mention they do help me write faster...at least...that's what I think. ^_^ 


	11. Ambrose?

MatureImmaturity: Thanks. I've been trying to keep Batman in character (cuz he rocks!) and keep Nichole fresh. It's nice to hear I'm accomplishing that. Oh, and things should get even more interesting later on. ^_^  
  
Drunk on Tang: ^_^ Doctor Strange Rocks!! Although he doesn't make an appearance in this chapter (sorry) but I'm sure he'll be there for chapter 12.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------  
  
Batman looked through the papers again. "This just doesn't make sense." He repeated for the fifth time that day. The phrase was beginning to feel familiar and he hated that fact.  
  
In his hands he held Hezekiah's papers. Every paper he could possible find on the man. Even his birth certificate. He glared at the certificate. At a closer glance he could tell it had been forged. In fact, every legal document he could find on the man had been forged. Hezekiah obviously had something to hide. If Batman didn't know any better he would have guessed that before his job at Metropolis Hezekiah hadn't even existed.  
  
Shuffling through the papers once again, Hezekiah's application for his job appeared on the top. Batman took it into his hands and looked closer. How could he have missed this? Hezekiah had first applied for a job at Lex Luther Corps. It was time to pay Superman's old friend a visit.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Professor Xavier opened his eyes. He was standing in a valley filled with flowers. Odd looking flowers at that. He leaned over and picked one. Odd but beautiful. Xavier looked out beyond the borders of the valley. It seemed that its borders were singed. As if there had been a huge fire there. Beyond the valley, from what he could see, was wasteland. Every once in a while in this wasteland little bright lights would flicker, and then brighten up into pictures. Then in an instant they would fade away.  
  
As far as he could tell, there was no one to be seen. "Hello?" His voice echoed throughout the valley. "Hello?" He tried again.  
  
"You shouldn't be so loud. You might wake her." Professor X looked behind him. There sat a little girl in a swing which hung from a big oak tree. She looked to be about ten.  
  
"Are you Nichole?"  
  
"Of course, silly. The real question is, who are you?"  
  
"I'm Professor Charles Xavier."  
  
The little girl smiled queerly. "I've heard of you. What do you want?"  
  
"I would like to know what happened the night you came to my world."  
  
The smile appeared again on her face. "No, you don't. You want to know what those creatures's weakness is. They were called the Esothen, right?"  
  
Xavier smiled back. "Yes, to both counts. Can you tell me?"  
  
The smile disappeared from her face as she hopped off the swing. She walked up to him slowly then gently tugged on his shirt. Xavier bent down. The little girl stared deep into his eyes for a long moment. Suddenly, she turned away. A long moment of silence followed.  
  
"If I tell you, you'd tell everyone else, wouldn't you?" She finally asked.  
  
"Of course I would." A confused Professor replied.  
  
"Then I can't tell you, even with the little bits I know. I'm sure it'd be enough for you to put together the truth."  
  
"Why don't you want them to know? Don't you want to help them defeat the Esothen?"  
  
The little girl sighed. "Well, do you want to see her?"  
  
"See who?"  
  
"Why, Ambrose of course! Perhaps your presence has awoken her."  
  
Before Xavier could reply, the girl had already grabbed his hand and proceeded to lead him past the valley, behind where he had been standing. Just beyond the wasteland sat a black mist, which was exactly where she was leading him.  
  
She led him through the black mist quickly until they reached a clearing. In it was a beautiful young woman lying in the grass, asleep. She was wearing a beautiful blue-green medieval dress.  
  
"Tell me, what do you see?" The girl asked the professor.  
  
"I see a young woman sleeping in the grass."  
  
"What does she look like?"  
  
"She has a dark complexion with pitch black hair." Xavier replied. "Her name is Ambrose?"  
  
"No." The little girl shook her head sadly. "I just call her Ambrose because that's the name she calls out in her sleep. She's been here for as long as I can remember. Always sleeping. Always dreaming."  
  
"Who is she?"  
  
"Look again, Professor. Do not let your mind deceive you this time. Try seeing her for who she really is."  
  
Professor Xavier looked again. His eyes widened in disbelief. "This can't be..."  
  
"Yes. And I must learn of this on my own. Please, I promise you, she promises you, the Esothen will be stopped. Go on with your alternative plan. It will work." She let out a sad, weary sigh. "It has to work."  
  
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Short, I know. But I tried and it just doesn't seem right to add anything more to this chapter. I've already started the next one so hopefully it'll come just as fast....although I wouldn't count on it. I'm gonna try and shoot for the end of this month for the middle of the next....  
  
Anyways, review, please! They're very much appreciated and pretty much make my day. 


	12. A Plan

Shannon: Thank you so much!!!! That's probably one of the biggest compliments I've ever received!  
  
MatureImmaturity: Thanks. Sorry for not clearing things up this chapter...but don't worry...it'll be explained in the chapter 13 or 14.  
  
Drunk on Tang: Well, you know I had to do something interesting with Dr. Strange at least. Here's some more!

* * *

A group of superheroes stood in the main control room waiting for the Professor to finish. He had been in there for quite some time now.  
  
Some of the X-men and Avengers had come with the professor, so the room was pretty full. Cyclops, Iceman, Rogue came with the X-men; Iron man and Captain America came in representation of the Avengers. Beside all these extra guests, Dr. Strange and most of the Justice League was in the room too.  
  
In spite of all these people, the room was quiet. The only sounds in the room were that of Flash slowly pacing back and forth nervously.  
  
"Flash, will you please stop that. You're making everyone nervous!" Green Lantern snapped at him.  
  
Flash stopped and glared at him. "I can't help it. I mean, what if he can't find out what their weakness is? Then what do we do?"  
  
"Weren't you paying any attention at the meeting? We'll go with our alternate plan."  
  
"Yes, I was paying attention..." Flash muttered then added clearly. "It just doesn't seem like it's enough."  
  
"Well, what else can we do, but fight? We can't just let them attack. We already know they're hostile." Hawk Girl butted in.  
  
"Hmmm." Wally finally sat down on the floor. He appeared to be very deep in thought.  
  
A few minutes later he jumped up. "I've got it!" Wally exclaimed.  
  
"Does that sound bad, or is it just me?" Cyclops asked to no one in particular.  
  
The rest of the group nodded in agreement. "I don't want to know." Iron Man added, shaking his head.  
  
It was then that the elevator door burst open. Professor X and Wonder Woman entered the room.  
  
Everyone looked at them, hope lingering in their eyes. With one glance, Wonder Woman destroyed their hopes. The weakness had not been found.  
  
"I think we should go on with our alternative plan. Nichole seems to think it will work and I believe her." Professor Xavier spoke.  
  
"Is everyone here?" Superman asked. "We should decide who's going and who's staying here."  
  
"Everyone's here," J'onn answered. "Except for Batman. He took the Javelin-7 down to earth. Said he had some unfinished business he needed to settle."  
  
Superman nodded. "We'll have to do without him for now, then. The sooner we decide who goes, the sooner we can search for the ship."  
  
"Shouldn't we decide on how we're going to find the ship before we decide who goes there?" Doctor Strange asked. "After all, how are we going to go to a ship if we don't know where it is?"  
  
The group nodded in agreement. "True." Superman stated. "Do you have any suggestions, Doctor Strange?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, I do. If we could somehow lure the aliens out and keep them busy, I might be able to follow their aroma back to their ship."  
  
"You can do that?" Flash asked eagerly.  
  
"I might be able to. I've tracked creatures down before but I can only do it when the trail is fresh. I've never tried to do it backwards."  
  
"If you can do that, my plan just might work." Wally smiled.  
  
The rest of the Justice League members cringed. Not another one of Wally's plans.  
  
But instead of speaking out, the group listened intently. After all, none of them could think of a better plan. Wally's would just have to do.

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"I said, 'Where is Hezekiah?'!" Batman had Lex Luther by the throat. He had managed to sneak into the millionaire's bedroom that night. So far, Luther had played dumb. He had claimed to never have met anyone named Hezekiah. Batman knew better.  
  
"I told you. I don't know anyone named Hezekiah nor have I met anyone." Lex Luther said gruffly. "If you would let me go, I might be able to help you."  
  
Batman roughly let go of him. Lex rubbed his sore neck indignantly. "How do you think I know this Hezekiah?"  
  
Batman handed him Hezekiah's application. "It has your signature on it."  
  
"Oh." Lex took the paper from Batman and took a quick glance at it. "What do you want to know?"  
  
"I want to know who he is."  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Batman grabbed him by the neck again. "I don't believe you."  
  
"I make it a point not to know who my clients are, I swear."  
  
"What do you mean?" Batman lifted the millionaire by his neck.  
  
"I'm running a program for his kind. If they have enough money, I can get them ID's."  
  
"What do you mean, 'his kind.'?"  
  
"Hezekiah James is an alien."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nichole woke up and got out of bed. What had happened? One minute she was awake the next minute. She must have dreamt something, at least it felt that way.  
  
Deciding to ignore it, Nichole looked around the room. She was alone. "That's weird."  
  
Nichole quickly got dressed and went out to find the others. It didn't take her long. Everyone was still in the main control room. It looked as if they had just finished another meeting.  
  
"Hey." Nichole said slowly.  
  
They all seemed to ignore her, that is, except for Flash. He walked up to her and for the first time since she had met him, his eyes looked grave and his face looked serious.  
  
"Hi." Nichole said rather skeptically. "What happened?"  
  
"It's time."  
  
Nichole stared at him, unsure of what to say. She knew this time would come but now that is was here, she was afraid. It was time to set things in motion. It was time to begin the fight. Things were about to change and she could only hope they were for the better. Even though it didn't feel that way....and her feelings were usually right.

* * *

I know, I know...I didn't really explain the cliffy of the last chapter...and it isn't exactly a long chapter....but don't worry...the next chapter will be long and full of action. I promise.  
  
Review please!! They are one of the many reasons I still write this story....


	13. Saying Goodbye

MatureImmaturity: Thanks for reviewing! Also, thanks for pointing out that I had grammar mistakes...I've really got to work on that area of my writing. Do you think I should also work on my constantly changing points of view as well?  
  
Drunk on Tang: Here's more!  
  
AntimatterManticore: calm down, okay? I'll answer at least one of your questions...what Flash meant by "It's time." Was that it was time to set things it motion. It was time for the superheroes to go fight. Nichole knew what he was talking about because it was the moment she had been waiting for since she had arrived...sorry I didn't make that more clear for you... As for your other questions, you're gonna have to wait for the next chapter. (Driving people up the wall is fun....in an evil sorta way...lol.)  
  
Zeheria: yeah, I noticed you hadn't reviewed! Glad you're still reading! Even more glad you still like!

* * *

Nichole stood just outside landing area with Superman waiting for everyone to get ready. The time had come to start the fight and Nichole was getting nervous. However, this didn't stop her from arguing with Superman.  
  
"Please, you've got to let me do something! I'm a huge part of this."  
  
"What can you do? There isn't anything that comes to mind that doesn't involve you getting hurt!" Superman argued back.  
  
"I don't care. If I get hurt at least it'd be while helping people. Besides, I've got a feeling that's where I need to be. Please, you've got to trust me!"  
  
"I can't just let you go out there cuz you've got a feeling that's where you should be! You're staying here with Professor Xavier, Captain America, Rogue and me!"  
  
Before Nichole could respond with a good comeback, Batman came in. "I'll watch Nichole for now."  
  
"Where have you been?"  
  
"Taking care of a few things." Batman stated. "Professor Xavier briefed me on the current plan. I'll take care of Nichole for now."  
  
"Fine." With an aggravated look at both Nichole and Batman, Superman left.  
  
"I guess you're not going to tell me exactly what's going on." Nichole sighed.  
  
Ignoring her comment, Batman spoke. "You're staying behind."  
  
Nichole threw her hands up in frustration. "Why? Why can't you all just trust me? I need to be there! I can play a part in stopping them. I know I can!"  
  
"Enough." Batman glared her into silence. "You're staying here and nothing you can say or do will change anyone's minds. You've already done all you can."  
  
Nichole just crossed her arms in silence.  
  
"Now that that's cleared up, there's something I need you to do for me."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Follow me and I'll show you." Batman said as he opened a secret door.  
  
"Can't you just tell me here?" Nichole whined. "I don't want to go down any more of your secret passageways or see anymore secret rooms!"  
  
However, when Batman left into the passageway, all Nichole could do was follow. She might not have wanted to but her curiosity was stronger then her will to stay away.  
  
It wasn't long until the reached the secret room Batman had shown her the other day.  
  
"Well, now that we're here again, what did you want to show me?"  
  
Batman hit a few keys on the computer. "What's your father's name?"  
  
"Uh, Frank, why?"  
  
"That's now the new password for this room, 'Uh, Frank, why?'"  
  
"What?" Nichole nearly shouted. "Why did you do that?"  
  
"I'll be going down to earth soon. If we don't come back by tomorrow, I want you to take everyone on the Watchtower and hide in here for a little while." Batman handed her a paper with various numbers on it. "Memorize these, then burn the paper."  
  
Nichole nodded.  
  
Batman took a quick glance at one of the cameras he had just turned on. "They're gathering outside the hangar. Let's go."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------  
  
Nichole soon found herself in a room filled with superheroes. It was almost like a comic convention (not that she had ever been to one) except the nerds dressed up in costumes were the real thing.  
  
Everyone around her was either saying goodbye or trading last minute information. Nichole herself was going around saying good bye to various people. At this moment it was J'onn.  
  
"You'll be on the space ship, right?" She asked.  
  
"Yes, I will."  
  
"Take care of Wally for me, will ya? Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."  
  
J'onn smiled. "I will."  
  
She hugged the Martian goodbye.  
  
Now there was only one person left; Wally. She looked around the room for him.  
  
He was talking with Doctor Strange. Actually, from Nichole's point of view, it looked more like pleading. Probably talking about the invisible people, she thought.  
  
When Wally noticed her walking up to him, the conversation was abruptly stopped and Doctor Strange left to talk with someone else.  
  
"Hey." Nichole said first.  
  
"Hey. How are you doing?"  
  
Nichole shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess."  
  
"Everything's gonna be okay..."  
  
"Yeah, I know. Just..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Come back safe okay?" Nichole looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears.  
  
"I will, I promise." Flash reached out and gave the girl a hug. They stood there for a long while like this. Cherishing the comfort and reassurance they each felt in each others arms.  
  
"It's time to go." Batman finally announced. "We've wasted enough time already.  
  
Reluctantly, Flash tore himself away from Nichole and left toward the ship that would take him down to earth. "Good bye."  
  
"Bye." Nichole said quietly wishing more then ever she could go.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------  
  
"No! There is no way I'm going to do that!" Hawk girl complained loudly. "I thought the original plan was to have Wonder woman play that part."  
  
Flash rolled his eyes at her. "Come on. Wonder woman's too tall. If we hide the color of your hair, it might just work. Don't you want save the world?"  
  
"Give me my mace; I'll fight to save the world! But under no means will I wear _that_!" Hawk girl looked in horror at the very girly clothes that were held in front of her.  
  
"I know. Pink isn't exactly Nichole's color either but it's the only thing Wonder woman could find."  
  
Hawk girl sent Flash her best death glare, and then let out a reluctant sigh. "Fine. I'll do it but you owe me, Flash!"  
  
Flash held back his laughter. Even if this plan didn't work, it would be worth it to see Hawk girl in pink.  
  
While Hawk girl was getting ready, Cyclops was using his communicator to tell the superheroes on earth to be ready. Although skeptical, the superheroes agreed that this was the best plan available.  
  
It didn't take much time for them to arrive. They had decided earlier to land a couple miles away from Xavier's school. The rest of the heroes were waiting at the school.  
  
"Well, is everyone ready?" Flash asked, looking around to make sure everything was in order. "Alright. Let's do this."

* * *

A/N: Sorry about this chapter... I know I promised the next one would be long and full of action...have you ever written a story and it kinda took on a mind of its own? That's what happened to this chapter... I was planning on making it all about Flash's plan and such but then I realized I still had a few things on the Watchtower to take care of. But now that that's out of the way, the next chapter: Flash's Plan in Action!!! 


	14. The Awakening Begins

Ahhh!!! I'm so sorry.... Haven't updated in months... I haven't really been up to writing as of late and so yeah....no writing, no chapter....so for those of you who have been waiting for this chapter and are reading now.....free cookies for you!!  
  
Drunk on Tang: Yeah... I liked that too. Here's more, finally.  
  
AntimatterManticore: oh....I hope you're not insane by now.... lol...glad you liked the whole Hawk girl in pink idea... lol...too bad I had to ditch the idea in this chapter...ah well...it was funny while it lasted.  
  
Zeheria: lol. it does sound like they're getting ready for the apocolypse...doesn't it? lol...maybe I was a bit too dramatic about it...lol.. ah well. I like it and seem you do too so I guess it doesn't matter. Thanks so much for reading.  
  
Disclaimer: Wow....I'm writing a fan fiction on the Justice League (among other things) and I don't own it..... It's unheard of!

* * *

Flash and Hawk girl trudged through the woods, getting nearer and nearer to Xavier's school. Hawk girl had conned her way out of the pink clothes after it was discovered they hadn't fit her. Instead, she wore a long dark cloak to hide the fact that she wasn't Nichole.  
  
"I don't think this is gonna work." Hawk girl complained.  
  
"It always takes them a little while. Just give them a few more minutes." Flash responded. "And don't talk. You don't sound like Nichole."  
  
"I doubt they'd actually recognize her voice." She murmured under her breath.  
  
"What was that?" Flash glared back at her.  
  
"What is this anyway?" Hawk girl fingered the barely visible black dot on her cloak.  
  
"Some sort of tracker or something, I guess. Wonder woman found it on Nichole's clothes."  
  
She shrugged in response. "I still don't think this is gonna-"  
  
"Shhh!" Flash cut her off. "Did you hear that?"  
  
Before Hawk girl could respond, a rustling in the bushes behind them caused them both to stand to attention.  
  
Suddenly a loud screeching noise came up from behind them.  
  
Without thinking, Flash quickly grabbed Hawk girl up in his arms and ran for the school. He kept his pace as slow as he could without them catching up.  
  
"Have you got the communicator?" He frantically asked Hawk girl.  
  
"Yes." She responded, grabbing onto it. She pressed one of its buttons and spoke into it. "Phase one accomplished. We're on our way to the school."  
  
In the meantime, the Javelin-7 had already made its way to the school and had received the message along with the other heroes there.  
  
"You ready, Doctor?" Reed Richards asked after affirming to Hawk girl the message had been received.  
  
Doctor Strange nodded. "When will they be here?"  
  
"Any minute now."  
  
"Scratch that." Iceman said, looking out the window. "They're here now and it looks like our Esothen are right behind them."  
  
Without a minute to spare, all of the heroes rushed out to the front yard where Flash and Hawk girl soon met them.  
  
Before any of them could say a word, or Flash could catch his breath, the Esothen had arrived. At first the two groups paused, staring at each other. One of the Esothen stepped forward.  
  
"Give her up!"  
  
"Why do you want her?" Reed Richards asked.  
  
"That is none of your business. She is ours. She doesn't belong to you."  
  
"She's not one of you. She's a human, like us."  
  
"You have much to learn of our race, Mr. Fantastic." The creature smiled mischievously.  
  
Suddenly, the creature jumped at Mr. Fantastic. However, he was able to dodge this blow by an inch. The fight had begun.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------  
  
Meanwhile, Dr. Strange, Flash, Iceman, Cyclops, Iron man, Green Lantern and J'onn had made their way over to the Javelin-7.  
  
Getting into the ship, Dr. Strange took his place at the front while Green Lantern took the driver's seat.  
  
"Which way?" Green Lantern looked up at the doctor expectantly.  
  
Doctor Strange pointed to his left. "That way. I'll tell you when it changes."  
  
Green Lantern steered the ship to the left and up. They were on their way and things were looking good. Every once in a while Doctor Strange would direct the ship a little more to the left or a little more to the right. Soon they found themselves out in space making their way towards the moon.  
  
"It's not far from here, maybe a couple of miles behind the moon."  
  
"Alright. Here we go." Green Lantern sped up the ship making their way behind the moon.  
  
Flash was the first to see it. "Wow. Um, I think that's it."  
  
Not too far from where they were was another ship. It had to be the Esothen's. It was hard to see because it was completely black, blending in with its background. Despite its huge size, it appeared very sleek and mysterious, very much like the Esothen themselves.  
  
"They must have used some sort of cloaking device." Dr. Strange commented in wonder.  
  
"Yeah." Cyclops nodded. "You guys ready to do this?"  
  
As if in response, Green Lantern sped his way over with a quick suggestion from Doctor Strange. Soon the ship was landed inconspicuously nearby, making use of its new hovering feature.  
  
"I think we should contact earth before we board." Cyclops said.  
  
"I don't think that would be wise." Iron Man disagreed. "I'm sure they're having enough trouble with the Esothen. Not to mention it might give away our position."  
  
"Yeah. I'd have to agree with Iron Man." Flash added, even though no one had really asked him. "We came here to do this. There's no backing out now. Might as well just get it over with. No sense in stalling."  
  
Ice man nodded. "Let's go then!"  
  
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Hawk girl stood by impatiently as she watched the fighting going on around her. On occasion she would punch an Esothen that got too close, but that wasn't enough to quench her desire to fight.  
  
She was told that she had to play the role of Nichole, and Nichole certainly wasn't a fighter. Hawk girl smirked. She probably couldn't even manage to lift up her mace, much less hold it the right way.  
  
She was getting tired of standing here, watching the others around her "protect" her. She just couldn't stand here and do nothing any longer. Slowly, she reached for her mace. She held it in her hand underneath her cloak. Waiting time was over.  
  
With a sense of ease and familiarity, Hawk girl flung herself into the midst of the action. Spinning her mace around her, she let herself become engulfed in the heat of battle. With each dark creature that approached her she countered almost gracefully with her mace. Oh, how she loved it.  
  
An Esothen jumped at her, trying to claw its way through her cloak. With a cry, Hawk girl whacked him on top of the head. She smiled as she watched the creature fall to the ground. Yes, this was much better then waiting.  
  
Getting lost in the battle was much too easy. A sense of urgency filled her as she slowly noticed she was being surrounded. Hawk girl glanced beyond them to see Wolverine desperately trying to stick his claws in one and Reed Richards wrapping his arms around three of them. They were much too busy to help her. Everyone else was too far away. She'd have to settle this on her own.  
  
Without even a warning, the Esothen jumped in unison on top of her. _No!_ Her mind screamed as she fought for air. They had turned themselves into a mist and were slowly suffocating her. _Wide open spaces. Must have wide open spaces.  
_  
Letting go of all that she had left of caution, she let her wings go free. With barely any effort, the wings promptly tore her cloak as she flew up into the air. She breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Something was wrong. She could feel it. Looking down, she could see that everyone had stopped fighting. _What was happening? Why had they- oh no! _Her identity had been revealed. The Esothen now knew that she was not Nichole. They knew Nichole wasn't there nor would she be showing up. _Uh- oh._  
  
For a long moment everyone just stared; the Esothen in surprise and anger; the superheroes in horror. Their plan had failed.  
  
The silence was too much for Hawk girl to bear. With the cry of a warrior, she swooped down from the sky and connected her mace with several Esothen bodies. The others soon followed her lead.  
  
This, however, didn't last for long. What might have been considered as shrieks of pain had been signals. Using the stealth the Esothen had become so well known for, they disappeared.  
  
The superheroes looked at each other in horror. Silence ruled across the field. Reed Richards stepped forward. "We've got to warn them."  
  
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The inside of the ship was as dark and mysterious as it appeared to be. Flash wandered its halls alone. They had decided to split up into groups. Since they all had communicators it would be easy to keep tabs on each other.  
  
Flash had lost his partner J'onn somewhere in the ship's dark corridors. He had tried contacting him but it seemed J'onn's communicator wasn't working. Flash tried his hardest to hope that his Martian friend had not been captured by the enemy.  
  
A sharp screech pierced through the silence. He ran towards the sound; quickly hiding in the shadows if danger seemed to appear. It was from the shadows that Flash now looked on.  
  
They were all there. The entire sabotage team had been captured and being led by the vile creatures. Flash looked on in horror. His friends looked weak and worn, as if they were....oh no! The Esothen must have used some of their mind-controlling poison on them. He needed help and fast.  
  
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Nichole sat impatiently in the main control room. _They would come home safe_, she thought to herself for the fifth time since they had left. She tried her hardest to get her heart to believe it but it was to no avail. There was still a quiet assurance within her that if she wasn't there, no one would be coming home. She just couldn't shake it.  
  
_ Beep!_ Nichole immediately rushed over to the controls. Remembering what J'onn had taught her, she opened the message.  
  
"Hey." It was Wally. Even through his superhero mask Nichole could see he was distraught. Something had gone wrong.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Where's Superman?"  
  
"I don't know." Nichole lied. "Tell me what's wrong."  
  
Flash looked back and forth nervously. "Okay, Nicky. I want you to pay really close attention okay?"  
  
Nichole nodded.  
  
"I want you to go find Superman and tell him to send back-up. The others have been captured. I'm the only one left. I don't think they know I'm here so we might still have a chance. You see, I found this room and-"  
  
Static cut out his voice. Nichole could see Flash look behind him in fear. Static filled the screen. She could see him no more.  
  
"No!!" She screamed at the screen. "Wally, come back!"  
  
Tears filled her eyes. _This couldn't be happening. I could have done something to stop this. I know there was something. There had to be. _The pain overwhelmed her as she let herself drop to the floor.  
  
She felt a little hand grip her shoulder and help her up.  
  
"Hello." A little girl with curly black hair stood before her. "I thought you'd never show up."  
  
"Who are you?" Nichole asked in wonder.  
  
The little girl giggled. "Why I'm you of course. But, there's no time for introducing. Come with me."  
  
Nichole allowed herself to be led into the middle of a wasteland. It looked so dry, as if it had never rained there.  
  
The little girl let go of her wrist and opened her palm to the sky. A bolt of lightning came down from the sky and formed itself into a ball of light in the child's hand. Looking up from her palm, the little girl smiled sweetly at Nichole.  
  
"Look into the light. Regain what was lost. Awaken."  
  
Nichole suddenly found herself in the alleyway again. Carmichael was holding his head and rocking back and forth. He was screaming. "The weakness is.... The weakness is..."  
  
Suddenly, as if a sense of calm had washed over him, he let go of his head and stared straight into her eyes. "You. You can stop them. I know you can. Please, remember your promise. Remember your true name. Remember my father."  
  
Nichole nodded in response. In the blink of an eye, she was back in the wasteland again. A sleepy woman in a blue-green dress stood before her.  
  
"Who are you?" Nichole asked, almost afraid of the answer.  
  
At first the woman just stared at her, reddish hazel eyes filled with pity and regret. With one swift motion, she knocked Nichole out. "You will know soon enough."

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Yup...that's it....so...what'd you think? Want more cookies? Review, please! (of course...the cookies might be a little moldy by the time they get to you...so...sorry in advance for that...heh.. )

The next chapter... Ambrose's Bane... he he!


	15. Ambrose's Bane

AntimatterManticore: mwahahahaha! of course I had to leave it at a cliffhanger...it was just too tempting! If you read this chapter, you just may find out who that woman is...

DrunkonTang: Yes! I am evil! mwahahahaha!!! (I just love all these great reactions to cliffies!) Well, I couldn't have done the fighting without your help!

Jill: Thanks for reviewing! I updated sooner then I thought I would.

oneredneckgoddess: lol! I love doing cliffies!!! This has got to be one of my best, considering the great reactions I've been getting. Even my little brother's been pesting me to finish this chapter. Thanks so much for reveiwing! Reviews most certainly make my day!

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"Nichole, wake up." Superman held the girl in his arms. All four heroes had rushed into the main control room when they had heard the beep, only to find Nichole sprawled lifelessly on the floor. "Please, wake up."

As if waking from a nightmare, Nichole bolted upright and jumped out of Superman's arms.

"Are you okay?"

Nichole gave them all a queer look. "Yes, I am fine." She responded in a monotone voice.

"What happened?"

"Flash called." Nichole said, as if in a daze. "He needs backup. I'm going." She headed for the door then tripped over her own feet.

Captain America, who was standing near the entrance, caught her just in time.

"Oh no, you're not!" Superman said from behind her as Captain America helped her regain her balance.

Ignoring Superman's command, Nichole stared the Captain straight in the eye. "Move. Now."

With a queer glance at Xavier, Captain America complied.

"Rogue, follow her."

Following the Professor's command, Rogue followed Nichole out of the room. Superman turned to do the same.

"Let her go."

"Let her go? But she's gonna get herself killed!" Superman protested.

"She'll be fine. She's no ordinary girl. You need to learn to trust her." Professor Xavier sighed wearily. "This is the only way."

Superman let out a soft sigh. "Okay, Professor. I just hope you're right."

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"Do you know how to fly this thing?" Nichole asked Rogue, looking over the X-men's spaceship.

"Yeah."

"Then come on. We've got no time to lose."

Nichole hopped into the ship. With a bit of hesitation, Rogue followed close behind.

"Wait a minute. Do you even know where this ship is?" Rogue asked before settling into the drivers' seat.

"There's no time to explain. I'll show you where to go."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Rogue did as she was told. They soon found themselves sitting merely inches away from the Esothen's ship.

"You stay here. The others will be back out soon." Nichole prepared herself to go into the Esothen's ship.

"Oh, no you don't. Not without me." Rogue "parked" the ship and strapped on some equipment so she could breathe out in space. "Don't you want one a' these?" She asked her.

"I have no need for them." And with that she opened up the ship door and jumped out onto the other ship. Rogue promptly followed her.

They soon found themselves wandering the halls of the mysterious ship. "Do you even know where we're goin'?" Rogue asked.

"We need to find Flash." Nichole strode through the halls.

A rumbling noise echoed through the ship's halls. "What's that?"

Nichole grabbed her arm. "Quick. Hide!" They quickly pressed themselves up against the walls, hoping the shadows would be enough to keep them unnoticed.

They waited for what seemed like forever while a huge group of Esothen rushed past them. Finally, the stream of black ended. Nichole breathed a sigh of relief. "I think they're gone. Let's go."

"Wait!" Rogue held up her gloved hand to stop her. "There's one more comin' this way."

Sure enough, Rogue was right. There were two more trudging down the hall, much slower then the ones before them. They were carrying something.

Nichole gasped. "Flash!" She held up her hand to do something, then glared at her hand in anger. She looked over at Rogue. "Do something, quick!"

"Don't worry." Rogue whispered. "I'll get 'im." Rogue crept up from behind and slipped off her glove. One touch from her hand and both of them collapsed, dropping Flash and the ground. Rogue grasped her hand and cried out in pain as she fell to the floor.

Nichole rushed over. "Flash, Rogue, are you okay?" She shook Flash to wake him up. His eyes slowly opened and he became aware of his surroundings. "What are you doing here?" He sat up quickly, obviously unharmed.

"There's no time to explain. Help me wake up Rogue."

In no time, they had awoken Rogue. "Are you okay?" Flash asked.

"Yeah. The Esothen are very strong." Rogue stood up. "I'm a little dizzy but I can make it."

Nichole nodded then turned toward Flash. "Where's the room you found?"

Flash pointed to his right. "Uh, that way but I should warn you to be careful..."

Nichole hadn't heard the last part. She was already on her way to the room.

It wasn't very far. Nichole smiled for the first time since arriving. "Yes! This is it! Come on!" Nichole turned back and beckoned Flash and Rogue over. "This is it!" She repeated.

"Wait! Nicky, I've gotta warn you-"

Nichole's scream pierced the air. "Noooo!!" Flash rushed over to the edge of the pit in the room's doorway.

Rogue followed him. "What's in there?"

Flash stared down into the pit. He picked a piece of lint off of his suit and threw it down. Once near the pit's mouth, electric shoots of power shot out, disintegrating it.

"Oh no."

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"It's no use." Beast finally said. "I've tried all their communicators but all I'm getting is static. They've either broken their communicators or..."

The superheroes stood silently, each wondering the fate of their sabotage team. Reed Richards broke the silence.

"They're safe. They'll come back alright." He said confidently. "In the meantime I think we should try to contact the Watchtower. We need to update them and they might have some news."

Batman promptly took over the computer and contacted the Watchtower. Superman was the one who answered.

"How are things going down there?"

"Not good." Batman responded. "Our cover's been blown. There are about a hundred good Esothen that may be heading back to their ship."

"Oh no! Nichole just headed out!"

"What do you mean, Nichole just headed out?!"

Superman moved back and let Professor Xavier talk. "She left for the Esothen's ship with Rogue."

"I don't understand. Why did you let her go?"

"She's the only one who can stop them. She asked me not to tell anyone this, but I see no harm in it now that's she's on her way."

"Tell us what?"

"When I went inside her mind, I saw it. It was black, like a shadow."

"What?" Batman stared at the screen in disbelief.

"Nichole has Esothen sleeping inside of her. It has now awakened. She is one of them."

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Nichole squeezed her eyes shut as pain coursed through her body. Where was she? How had she gotten here? The last thing she could remember was a woman; a woman with long, silky black hair. What was her name?

_Zalika._

"Huh? Where is that voice coming from?"

_My name is Zalika. I'm living inside of you. Please, don't be afraid._

"What are you doing there?"

_I am a part of you and yet separate. I wish had time to explain and console you now, but that will be later. Now you must sleep._

"Why?"

_There is much to be done; many things that you can not do on your own. Sleep now and you will awaken with the strength that I once knew._

Nichole slowly let her eyes droop. The pain was beginning to fade.

_Yes, that's it, little one, sleep. Sleep and know that I am sorry. Things shouldn't have to be this way._

And with Zalika's soothing voice running through her thoughts, Nichole fell asleep.

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Flash and Rogue stared into the pit. "What should we do?"

"Ah don't think there's anything we can do." Rogue replied solemnly.

Then, suddenly, the streaks of electric power began to shoot out from the pit once more. Out from the pit emerged Nichole, the pit's power surrounding her.

Flash stared in awe. "I didn't know you could fly."

Nichole looked over at him and smirked. "I can't." With a nod towards Rogue, Nichole flew over to the other side of the pit.

"Come on, lover boy." Rogue picked Flash up and flew after Nichole.

The room looked almost like the halls they had just left, empty and yet full of shadows; except, in the middle of this room, stood an oval-shaped platform. Nichole wasted no time. She quickly entered the code to open it with a smile. "Ambrose, you've underestimated me again." She mumbled under her breath.

Inside the platform, was an orb. It glowed with a soft yellow. For a moment, she hesitated, staring at the glowing orb. But the moment soon passed. She took the orb from its place.

She turned to Flash and Rogue who had been standing behind her awkwardly. "Be prepared to run. This is ship is probably set to explode after the orb is used. The Esothen will be weak, so you may have enough time to find and rescue your friends."

Flash stepped closer. "Nichole, what are you doing?"

"Rogue, please." Nichole looked at her with pleading eyes. Using her superhuman strength, Rogue held him back.

Nichole took the orb and gently spread it out across her forehead. It almost looked like a sticky, glowy Play-Doh. She closed her eyes tight and quietly braced herself. "Stand back."

Power slowly emanated from her body, creating a shield around her. She screamed in pain and tried unsuccessfully to escape her power-made prison. Then, suddenly, all the power shot out into a bigger shield and quickly shot back into her body.

Rogue let go of Flash just in time so he could catch Nichole before she hit the floor. "Nicky, please. Say something." Flash cried out as he held her lifeless body.

Nichole turned her head and looked back at him, her red eyes nearly glazed over. "Could you do something for me, little one?"

"Anything." Flash replied, confused.

"Give Ambrose a message for me. Tell him...tell him....to drop dead." She breathed out the last words.

"No..." Flash held her close.

"We don't have time for this." Rogue yelled. "We've gotta get outta here!" Rogue grabbed Flash who was still holding Nichole and flew back over the pit.

"We've gotta find the others!" Rogue dropped Flash in front of the pit and flew off.

Flash stood there for a long moment, wondering what he should do. He couldn't leave Nichole here, even if she is... No! She's alive and he can't leave her.

"Give her to me." Flash looked up to J'onn gently shaking him. "It's okay."

With a bit of hesitation, Flash handed the girl over. "Where are the others?" He managed to ask.

"They're on their way. We must head back to the ships."

Rushing through the halls, the two of them made their way to the entrance of the ship. It was there that they met the others.

"Was Carmichael in there?" Flash yelled at Green Lantern.

"I didn't see anyone fitting his description; all I saw were Esothen." GL yelled back.

"I've gotta find him! He's gonna pay!" Flash started to go back into ship.

"No! He's not there. We'll find him later!" GL shot at Flash with his ring and Flash complied.

After each hero had gotten into either ship, they flew off just in time. They were far enough away to watch as the ship exploded in ball of fire.

"So, this is it?" Flash asked from the Javelin-7. He was sitting in the back of the ship with Nichole lying lifelessly in his arms. "Is this the end of this?"

Dr. Strange looked out at the explosion and sighed. "There are many questions left to be answered. The girl still holds many answers." Dr. Strange sighed and glanced curiously at Nichole. "No, it's not quite over yet."

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Mwahahahahahahahaha!!! The question still remains....who is Ambrose? lol... I love this chapter... I've been waiting to write it ever since the beginning...

Next chapter! Learn more about Dr. Strange's past! Yay!

Review, please!


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